Red Blue Chair
- Date
- 1919–20
- Material
- Painted wood
- made in
- Utrecht, Utrecht province, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Furniture
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 34 1/4 x 23 5/8 x 32 1/2 in. (87 x 60 x 82.6 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Shop Fund and funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Randy Lipton, Director's Discretionary Fund, the Richard Brumbaugh Trust in memory of Richard Irving Brumbaugh and Grace Lischer Brumbaugh, Alison and John Ferring, Roxanne H. Frank, Nancy and Kenneth Kranzberg, and Susan and David Mesker
- Rights
- © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pictoright, Amsterdam
- Object Number
- 60:2004
NOTES
The designer Gerrit Rietveld wrote, “the aim of this chair was to make a piece of furniture without any mass or volume that did not enclose space, but allowed it to continue uninterrupted.” The design is reduced to a system of bypassing planes and lines. Originally the chair seat was painted blue, the back red, and the remaining elements black. In the 1920s Rietveld moved toward an even simpler and purer form by repainting his Red Blue Chair a single primary color.
Provenance
1919/1920 - 1988
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888-1964), the Vreeburg Cinema, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Elisabeth Eskes Rietveld (b.1913), the Netherlands by inheritance [1]
1988/06/07 - still in 2000
Stanley J. Seeger, New York, NY, USA, purchased at auction, "Rietveld and the Rietveld Academy," Christie's, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 7, 1988, lot no. 423 [2]
2000/12/04
In auction, "Pioneers of Avant-Garde Design," Phillips, New York, NY, December 4, 2000, lot no. 64 [3]
2002/12/03 - c.2003
Ulrich Fiedler, Cologne, Germany, and Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, NY, USA, jointly owned, purchased at auction, "Dutch Glory, Art & Collectors," Sotheby's Amsterdam, December 3, 2002, lot no. 46 [4]
c.2003 - 2004
Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, NY, USA, purchased from Ulrich Fiedler [5]
2004 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Barry Friedman Ltd. [6]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is email correspondence dated March 15, 2004 from Barry Friedman, Ltd., to SLAM curator Cara McCarty and documents accompanying the invoice dated May 19, 2004 [SLAM document files].
[1] The 1988 auction catalogue notes the chair was made in Rietveld's workshop for his own use and was part of the Rietveld interior at the Vreeburg, in Utrecht, The Netherlands.; Rietveld's daughter inherited the chair in 1964 ["Rietveld and the Rietveld Academy," Christie's, Amsterdam, June 7, 1988, lot no. 423, p. 90-91].
[2] See note [1]. A 2000 auction catalogue confirms the previous provenance and indicates that the individual who owned the chair in 2000 (Stanley J. Seeger) purchased the chair at the 1988 sale ["Pioneers of Avant-Garde Design," Phillips, New York, December 4, 2000, lot no. 64].
[3] See auction catalogue, note [2]. According to notes of a telephone conversation on April 24, 2004 between Ulrich Fiedler and SLAM curator Cara McCarty, the chair did not sell at this auction [SLAM document files].
[4] Purchased at auction "Dutch Glory, Art & Collectors," Sotheby's Amsterdam, December 3, 2002, lot no. 46, by Ulrich Fiedler. Marijke Kuper further confirmed that Ulrich Fiedler purchased the chair at this auction (E-mail dated September 22, 2009, from Marijke Kuper to SLAM curator David Conradsen, SLAM document files.] According to notes of a telephone conversation on April 24, 2004 between Ulrich Fiedler and SLAM curator Cara McCarty, Ulrich Fiedler and Barry Friedman Ltd. were joint owners of the chair until Barry Friedman acquired it outright. It is not clear at what point Barry Friedman, Ltd. acquired partial ownership [SLAM document files].
[5] See note [4].
[6] Invoice, dated May 19, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 28, 2004.
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (1888-1964), the Vreeburg Cinema, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Elisabeth Eskes Rietveld (b.1913), the Netherlands by inheritance [1]
1988/06/07 - still in 2000
Stanley J. Seeger, New York, NY, USA, purchased at auction, "Rietveld and the Rietveld Academy," Christie's, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 7, 1988, lot no. 423 [2]
2000/12/04
In auction, "Pioneers of Avant-Garde Design," Phillips, New York, NY, December 4, 2000, lot no. 64 [3]
2002/12/03 - c.2003
Ulrich Fiedler, Cologne, Germany, and Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, NY, USA, jointly owned, purchased at auction, "Dutch Glory, Art & Collectors," Sotheby's Amsterdam, December 3, 2002, lot no. 46 [4]
c.2003 - 2004
Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, NY, USA, purchased from Ulrich Fiedler [5]
2004 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Barry Friedman Ltd. [6]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is email correspondence dated March 15, 2004 from Barry Friedman, Ltd., to SLAM curator Cara McCarty and documents accompanying the invoice dated May 19, 2004 [SLAM document files].
[1] The 1988 auction catalogue notes the chair was made in Rietveld's workshop for his own use and was part of the Rietveld interior at the Vreeburg, in Utrecht, The Netherlands.; Rietveld's daughter inherited the chair in 1964 ["Rietveld and the Rietveld Academy," Christie's, Amsterdam, June 7, 1988, lot no. 423, p. 90-91].
[2] See note [1]. A 2000 auction catalogue confirms the previous provenance and indicates that the individual who owned the chair in 2000 (Stanley J. Seeger) purchased the chair at the 1988 sale ["Pioneers of Avant-Garde Design," Phillips, New York, December 4, 2000, lot no. 64].
[3] See auction catalogue, note [2]. According to notes of a telephone conversation on April 24, 2004 between Ulrich Fiedler and SLAM curator Cara McCarty, the chair did not sell at this auction [SLAM document files].
[4] Purchased at auction "Dutch Glory, Art & Collectors," Sotheby's Amsterdam, December 3, 2002, lot no. 46, by Ulrich Fiedler. Marijke Kuper further confirmed that Ulrich Fiedler purchased the chair at this auction (E-mail dated September 22, 2009, from Marijke Kuper to SLAM curator David Conradsen, SLAM document files.] According to notes of a telephone conversation on April 24, 2004 between Ulrich Fiedler and SLAM curator Cara McCarty, Ulrich Fiedler and Barry Friedman Ltd. were joint owners of the chair until Barry Friedman acquired it outright. It is not clear at what point Barry Friedman, Ltd. acquired partial ownership [SLAM document files].
[5] See note [4].
[6] Invoice, dated May 19, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 28, 2004.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.