Hilltop House and Studio

Egg Chair Designer: Arne Jacobsen

Manufacturer: Fritz Hansen April 1969 (Designed 1958) aluminum, polyurethane foam, steel, fabric

An iconic example of mid-century furniture, the “Egg” chair was designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. The hotel was entirely designed by Jacobsen – the building, the interior, the furniture – allowing for all elements to combine harmoniously.

Working from his garage, Jacobsen experimented first in plaster, creating multiple design iterations of the “Egg” chair to perfect its shape. The curves of the chair echo the lobby’s spiraling staircase, while standing out against the starker lines of the hotel’s architecture.

The “Egg” chair provided comfort and the winged head rest a measure of privacy for the sitter in a public space. No design detail was too small; the stitching of the upholstery is located about an inch from the chair’s edges creating a sculptural illusion that it is constructed from one piece of fabric.

The “Egg” chair became available to the public in 1960 through the Denmark-based Fritz Hansen company, which had been showcasing the work of Jacobsen since the 1950s. The accompanying footstool was created at this time for domestic settings. Both can still be ordered today in many different fabrics and colors.

This particular set, and an additional matching chair, were ordered by Dorothy Riester in 1969, this date indicated by a coded label found on each piece.They were ordered from Bronson Interiors, a furniture store located in Syracuse, NY, which was incorporated into the current Smith Contemporary Furniture in 1997. Dorothy custom ordered this wine red/purple textile, and her bold choice inspired other customers to order the same. The set of “Egg” chairs and the footstool in the Hilltop House adds to the curated atmosphere Dorothy and Bob created in their custom home.

Designer: Harry Bertoia

Manufacturer: Troy Sunshade Company circa 1950-1970, Fiberglass, resin, metal

Made sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, this fiberglass string chair (one of a pair in the Hilltop House Collection) showcases an experimental use of plastic common in mid-century furniture design. Its durable fiberglass and resin construction make the chair practical for both indoor and outdoor use, with some research finding them referred to as “pool-side” chairs. The manipulated synthetic material’s appearance is akin to sinew, and the chair mimics the construction and material of traditional “catgut” snowshoes. Dorothy once wrote that snowshoeing was the only way to reach the Hilltop House in the winter months, until the construction of a more accessible drive in 1961. Snowshoeing across the landscape of Stone Quarry Hill Art Park is still a popular winter activity for locals.

Founded in 1887, the Troy Sunshade Company in Troy, Ohio, became known for their modern residential furniture design, particularly metal garden chairs as seen in the accompanying vintage advertisement. Their most famous design collaboration was with Gilbert Rohde, who was known for his use of chrome in his furniture concepts. This particular Troy Sunshade chair was possibly designed by Herbert C. Saiger, who was known for his fashionable outdoor residential furniture designs. A 1991 Baltimore Sun article quotes Saiger as saying “The outside of the house is part of the inside. Decks and patios are an extension of the total living space, and they’re used that way.”

The Troy Sunshade Company furniture department was successful in the manufacturing and sales of their residential furniture, yet this portion of the company was sold to the Gleason Corporation of Milwaukee in 1970.

Designer: Harry Bertoia

Manufacturer: Knoll Associates Circa 1965-1975 (Designed 1952). Metal, fabric, foam

Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) was a well-known multidisciplinary artist and designer. He spent his childhood in his native country of Italy, moving to the US with his father in his teens. His success at Cass Technical High School in Detroit lead to his 1937 entrance to Cranbrook Academy of Art, which cemented his interest in metalwork and created the exploratory foundation for his future designs. Here, Bertoia developed relationships with top designers of the day, including Walter Gropius, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, and Florence Knoll.

Bertoia went on to teach at Cranbrook Academy until 1943, when Charles and Ray Eames convinced Bertoia to join their company in California. Though Bertoia solved key design issues in their wire chair design, he became frustrated with the lack of recognition. Bertoia, along with other disgruntled designers, left the Eames in 1946. In 1950, Florence Knoll invited him to join Knoll Associates with the promise of a stipend, materials, and free studio space. All she asked in return was for him to share promising ideas with them—ideas which lead to the iconic Bird Chair and Ottoman.

The Bird Chair and Ottoman were created as part of Bertoia’s only furniture series, which included the famous Diamond Chair, the Bertoia Side Chair and Barstool, and the Asymmetric Chaise. Bertoia created this series as an exploration of space and transparency, a theme he continued to explore in his sculpture. Though partially obscured by the upholstery, Bertoia’s distinct aesthetic and design for comfort is evident in the incorporation of an understated rocking chair element and the metal mesh framework. The blue upholstered cushion, designed with the help of Knoll’s fabric department, is attached only by small clips to the metal frame.

The success of this furniture series allowed Bertoia to work on his sculpture, painting, prints, and jewelry for the rest of his life. One of his more famous designs is the altar piece in Eero Saarinen’s Chapel at MIT, and at nearby Syracuse University you can view two of his sculptures in its art collection.

Designer: Marcel Breuer

Manufacturer: Gavina SpA or Knoll Associates

Designed 1927 in cane, wood, and steel

Marcel Breuer might best be known for his work as the architect of notable buildings like the Met Breuer and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, but he was first known as a skilled craftsman and designer of modern furniture. The Hungarian born designer began his career in Germany in 1920 as a student at the Bauhaus school under founder Walter Gropius. The two became close, and after teaching at the school, Breuer left in 1928 to pursue a career in architecture that led him to work again with Gropius when he moved to the US to work at Harvard University in 1937.

His early student work in furniture design showcased his life-long interest in simplified geometry and was constructed in wood and fabric. Breuer’s later work incorporated the use of tubular steel in his geometric designs. His popular club armchair (1925)—later named the Wassily Chair after it earned artist Wassily Kandinsky’s praise—was composed of strips of fabric stretched between a tubular steel frame—a design element utilized in several other Breuer designs.

The Cesca chair, designed in 1927 by Breuer during his career at the Bauhaus, does away with stretched fabric and instead utilizes a cantilevered seat on top of a singular, continuous piece of tubular steel. For the set at the Hilltop House, the Riesters chose caning and ebonized beech for the seats and backrest, though the Cesca chairs offered other finishing options such as upholstery or armrests.

The Cesca chair was first manufactured by the Thonet company, but Breuer gifted this and other designs to the Italian company Gavina SpA in the 1950s. It was at Gavina SpA that the chair was named “Cesca” after Breuer’s daughter Francesca. In 1968, Gavina SpA was purchased by Knoll Associates, which had a history with Breuer through his mentorship of Florence Knoll in Gropius’s architecture office in the 1930s.

To learn more about Marcel Breuer, visit the artist’s digital archive available via Syracuse University at: https://breuer.syr.edu/

Designer: Eero Saarinen

Original design produced 1957 for Knoll Manufacturer (of this set): Unknown. Laminate, wood, aluminum, steel

Eero Saarinen was born in 1910 into design royalty through his parents Eliel Saarinen, architect and director of Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Loja Gesellius, a textile and sculpture artist. In 1929-1930, Saarinen began his own artistic education by studying sculpture at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. In 1931 Saarinen changed direction, transferring to Yale University’s School of Fine Arts to study architecture instead. Upon his early graduation in 1934, Saarinen traveled across Europe and the Mediterranean studying architecture until joining the faculty ranks at Cranbrook Academy in 1936. It wasn’t until the death of his father in 1950 that Saarinen began to work alone while building on the success created with his father.

Saarinen is equally well known as both an architect and furniture designer. As an architect, his most iconic work is the St. Louis Arch; while his most iconic furniture designs are from the Pedestal Collection. This collection of chairs and tables are identifiable by the single “stem” base supporting the chair or tabletop. This seamless organic pedestal shape was inspired by a drop of liquid and cast as one piece of aluminum. With the Pedestal Collection, Saarinen aimed to “clear up the slum of legs” found under tables and chairs and “to make the chair all one thing again.” Simple forms and clean space were key design elements in midcentury furniture.

Saarinen’s Tulip Table quickly gained popularity, with the iconic design inspiring many imitations. The Riesters’ table has many elements of a genuine Saarinen table (metal pedestal and laminate top), but the tabletop edges are flat, not tapered. A smudged stamp on the underside is being researched, with hopes of it shedding light on the table’s provenance. A smaller side table has tapered edges, but the four-prong base contrasts with all original versions produced. Both of these tables at first glance appear to be original Saarinen Tulip Tables; however, certain elements may indicate that they are not.

We hope that more information to determine authenticity will be found for these tables through the Dorothy and Robert Riester Collection and Archive Project.

Designer: Hans J. Wegner

Manufacturer: Carl Hansen and Søn

Designed 1951 | Production 1952-Present in oak, leather

Hans Wegner was one of the most prolific furniture producers in the 20th century. Born in Tønder, Denmark in 1914, Wegner began working with wood as a cabinetmaker under H.F. Stahlberg. He made his first chair at age seventeen, and from there he gained experience both studying (1936-1938) and teaching (1946-1953) at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts. Wegner worked as a furniture designer (1938-1942) for architects Erik Møller and Arne Jacobsen (whose Egg Chair design is currently in the Hilltop House Library). In 1943, Wegner established his own design studio where he continued to design nearly 500 chairs throughout his long career.

The Sawbuck Chair CH28P was one of eight chairs inspired by a sawbuck/sawhorse, a tool commonly used by carpenters. (See image on right.) Although the CH29 chair is most commonly known as the Sawbuck Chair, many others in the series also carry this name, which can make research confusing.

The Sawbuck Chair CH28P contains many elements of organic functionalism, a midcentury design movement of which Wegner was a leading figure. In each of his designs, Wegner carefully considered how wood was used, incorporating grain direction and various types of connecting joints into his design plans. The Sawbuck Chair CH28P carefully considers the comfort of the sitter by providing support to the vertebrae while the unique, organically shaped armrests recall flippers or ancient tools. While many art historians do not consider it to be in Wegner’s top ten designs, the commercial popularity of the Sawbuck Chair CH28 speaks to its success as a finely designed item of furniture.

Designer: Robert Kasindorf

Manufacturer: Reilly-Wolff Associates Designed 1953

Metal, fabric, latex foam rubber

Robert Kasindorf (1927-2012) was born in Bronx, New York and spent the majority of his life in or near New York City. At age 18, he enlisted in the US Air Corps during World War II. After the war, Kasindorf attended Pratt Institute until 1951 when he graduated with a degree in Industrial Design. Through further experience, he expanded his career to include architecture, interior design, and furniture design. In 1961 with his mentor architect Henry Sandig, Kasindorf designed the Parkside Chapel in Queens, NY, an exuberant example of modernism and one of his more notable projects. Just this year, a potential construction project has galvanized conservation efforts for the chapel. In the 1980s, Kasindorf helped found Habitech Corporation of America, Inc., a company focused on architecture and interior design for commercial and residential projects.

Kasindorf designed the Hoop Chair in 1953 soon after his graduation from Pratt. The Hoop Chair appears to be the only chair design of his manufactured. The manufacturer, Reilly-Wolffe Associates, was based in New York City and manufactured at least three widely popular midcentury furniture pieces—such as Joseph Carl Cicchelli’s Komai Chair or Allan Gould’s leather stools—although the Hoop Chair has not been considered one of them.

As with many midcentury furniture designs, the Hoop Chair explores organic shapes in rigid metal. The chair’s overall oval shape is reminiscent of Reilly-Wolfe’s more popular chair, the Circle Chair by Joseph Carl Cicchelli, which was produced the year before in 1952. However, the hoop ends at the short back legs creating a shape reminiscent of a shell or a loose knot, separating the Hoop Chair from other furniture of the time period. The Hoop Chair also employed a newly-developed cemented shredded latex foam rubber material for the seat cushion, as certified by the label on the bottom of the chair.