Side chair c. 1946

Herbert von Thaden designed this plywood side chair, and it is now held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The chair embodies the socially progressive and avant-garde approach to design, that was becoming popular in Europe and the USA during the early-mid 20th century. The flowing design and singular material express a desire for a more simplified and integrated relationship between the user, the object, and its function. Made with the clean, functional and cost-effective style of the Bauhaus school, it speaks to the new post-war aspirations of the middle class. This chair also represents the cultural influence of the Bauhaus school of design on American design. After the Nazis closed the Bauhaus in 1933, many of its teachers emigrated to the United States, influencing design education in the USA. Looking at objects like this one allows us to better understand not only the history of art, but the history of cultural institutions, and the social conditions that shape aesthetic taste.