Arne Jacobsen's Egg Chair Sitting Pretty at 50
Jacobsen's Series 7, The Egg, & The Swan Changed The Way We Sit
Dec 20, 2008 Christopher Wilson
If you shirk over-stuffed sofas, baulk at utilitarian bar stools, and eschew ugly arm chairs like the interior décor plague, you are – whether you know it or not – a devotee of the Danish design genius Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971). The man whose oeuvre boasts a catalogue of design classics – including the ubiquitous Series 7 and the seemingly immemorial Egg Chair (which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2008) – gave to the world not just a place to rest, but more importantly a place to rest assured that a flounce in a fauteuil can be a quintessentially fashionable affair.
Jacobsen's Series 7 and The Catherine Keeler Shoot
Jacobsen’s name was made in 1963 when the photographer Lewis Morley chose to perch a naked Christine Keeler on what later turned out to be a Series 7 knock off. Keeler is remembered in Britain as the call-girl at the centre of the notorious Profumo Affair, an imbroglio that sported just the right amount of sex, politics and mendacity to ensure it remains for the British the cause célèbre of the swinging sixties. The chair – or rather its original – was the only thing to come out of the business with any credit. The design went on to sell 5 million world-wide and it’s not difficult to understand why. Its light-weight design, clean edges and hour glass shape have made it a fixture in all number of waiting rooms, kitchens and receptions.
The Jacobsen 'Ant'
The Series 7 – like many of Jacobsen’s designs – has an innovative forbear. In 1952 Jacobsen was commissioned to design the furnishings for the Danish medical group Novo Nordisk. The fruit of his labours was ‘The Ant’, a chair intended to seat the diners in the company canteen. It’s not difficult to discern the family lineage between this earlier chair and the Series 7 – both are based on an hour-glass design, but the former is a three-legged affair while the latter sports the regular complement of four, making it stackable and eminently storable.
The Egg Chair at The SAS Hotel
Both The Ant and the Series 7 are known essentially for their utility and the ‘brevity’ of their design. For more sumptuous sitting, one need look no further than the chair Jacobsen introduced in 1957 to seat patrons of the Royal SAS Hotel in Copenhagen (a building Jacobsen designed, incidentally). The Egg Chair is a veritable ovum of comfort and bombastic design that is as ostentatious as it is comfortable. Perhaps not one for the claustrophobe, the chair enfolds the sitter in its over-sized padded wings, which – in accordance with the designer’s original blueprint – are usually upholstered in red cashmere or leather.
The Swan: Epitome of Danish Modernism
The Egg Chair is a staple of Hollywood sound stages and TV shows and featured prominently in the films Men in Black and Austin Powers. Jacobsen followed The Egg with the leaner and more abbreviated design of The Swan. Introduced in Paris in 1958 and like its precursor intended for the SAS Hotel, The Swan chair boasts a more fluid design, a lower-slung back rest and more extravagant arm rests. It is lighter and more portable than The Egg and is considered a more sober and demur example of the Danish Modernism tradition.
Arne Jacobsen: The Price of Fashion
As the Catherine Keeler photo shoot testifies, there a number of faux or imitation Arne Jacobsens on the market. Indeed, because Jacobsen died in 1971 originals are rare and extremely pricey. An original Jacobsen Egg Chair sold recently at auction for close on $8,000, while an extremely rare Jacobsen Swan Sofa in leather brought over $9,000. A set of four original Jacobsen Series 7 hardwood chairs manufactured by Fritz Hansen start at around $1,000.
However, as with Eames, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier classics, there are a number of faux or 'inspired-by' Arne Jacobsens on the market. Imitation Egg chairs retail at anything between $700 to $2000; while a replica Swan usually carries a price tag of $500. Individual Series 7 inspired chairs start at around $100.
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