Eero Saarinen developed the Womb Chair for Knoll in response to Florence Knoll’s request for a generous chair in which she could curl up. Introduced in 1948 as Model 70, it gave the sitter room to change position rather than prescribing a single upright posture.
The design grew from experiments with molded plywood, but its broad, continuous shape required a different construction. Saarinen and Florence Knoll worked with a boatbuilder familiar with fiberglass and resin to develop the supporting shell. Upholstery softened the form while preserving its enveloping outline.
The high back flows into low arms and a wide seat. A slender steel rod base lifts this substantial upper body away from the floor, leaving open space below it. Separate cushions and a matching ottoman complete the arrangement shown here.
The Womb Chair belongs to the postwar exploration of molded furniture, in which comfort depended on the shape of the shell as well as its padding. Its combination of enclosure and lightness offers a useful counterpart to the exposed metal seating elsewhere in this collection.
