The Newman Chair
The Newman family gifted the Art Institute of Chicago this remarkable chair in 1971. As Carl J. D’Silva describes in his book Lost Danish Treasure, this chair is likely the first ever made. It has all the typical hallmarks of a very early chair; boxy backrest, sculpted spacer with rubber bushing, and unusually, 4 seat tabs. However, the wood strip under the arm makes this chair stand out from most early chairs. Usually, the strip extends the complete length of the underarm, but on this chair, the strip is shorter. It runs approximately 3/4 the length of the arm. The last 1/4 is part of the solid piece of the arm. The only other chair we know with this detail belongs to the chair in Finn Juhl’s house. Also of particular interest are the stubby horns that are without precedence.
The Newman Chieftain is an ultra-rare 4 tab Chieftain.
Photo: Wood strip under the arm of the Newman chair does not extend the length of the underarm. This is a very rare detail. In the above photo, note the faint line indicating the end of the strip.
Photo: Under arm of Finn Juhl’s personal chair also shows the shorter wooden strip. It is also possible to see the chip of wood from the recessed bolts in the arm.
Photo: The museum reupholstered the chair when it was gifted to them in 1971.
Photo: Rubber bushing on the back of the chair can be seen.