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Lounge Chair, ca. 1932
Marcel Breuer
(German, b. Hungary, 1902–1981)
Produced by Embru Werke
(Rüti, Switzerland)
Aluminum and painted wood
Gift of Friends of Art  M1992.241

Deathlike
  —Emily Post, 1930

In contrast, architect and designer Marcel Breuer created furniture—including the iconic Lounge Chair displayed here—that rejected all reference to historic ornament and construction. He and his collaborators at the influential Bauhaus design school in Germany believed that beauty did not come from decoration but from objects well designed for their intended uses. New industrial materials and techniques, they hoped, could allow modern designs to improve everyday life. What Emily Post saw as morbid, many others considered progressive and exciting.