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Swan Settee

Date
1958
made in
Denmark, Europe
Classification
Glassware
Current Location
On View, Gallery 130
Dimensions
40 x 60 x 36 in. (101.6 x 152.4 x 91.4 cm)
Credit Line
Marjorie Wyman Endowment Fund
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
6:2001
NOTES
The sinuous back and arms of this leather-skinned settee evoke the outstretched wings of one of nature’s most graceful animals—the swan. Architect and designer Arne Jacobsen developed this petite sofa from a suite of furnishings and accessories he designed in 1958 for the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. While Scandinavian design is closely linked with traditional craftsmanship and natural materials, Jacobsen utilized advances in synthetic foam to achieve the settee’s organic, sculptural form.
Private Collection, Helsinki, Finland [1]

- 2001
Juhani Lemmetti, Helsinki, Finland, purchased from private collection

2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Juhani Lemmetti [2]

Notes:
[1] According to Saint Louis Art Museum Curator Cara McCarty, this piece was owned by a private collector before being acquired by Juhani Lemmetti [handwritten note dated February 23, 2001, on invoice, SLAM document files].

[2] Invoice dated February 23, 2001 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 1, 2001.

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.