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Artists›Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

Artist

WA-00025893

Geometric Abstraction

Representation

None documented

19

Institutional Exhibitions

56

Works in Collection

93

Assets Indexed

0

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ82840 ULAN500002617

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Alvar Aalto: Furniture and Glass

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1984

No image

Architecture of Museums

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1968

No image

Philip L. Goodwin Galleries of Architecture and Design

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1964

No image

Recent Acquisitions

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1960–1961

No image

20th Century Design from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1958–1959

No image

Glass from the Museum of Modern Art Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1955–1956

No image

Built in USA: Post-War Architecture

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1953

No image

New Design Trends

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1952

No image

Good Design

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1950–1951

No image

Three Modern Styles

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1950

No image

Design Show: Christmas 1949

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949–1950

No image

Painting and Sculpture in Architecture

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

Source Registry (2)

Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/alvar-aalto
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/34
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer whose practice bridged modernism and organic form through the use of bent plywood, curved furniture, and biomorphic spatial planning. Working from the 1920s until his death in 1976, he developed a distinctly humanistic approach to modernist principles, evident in iconic pieces like the Paimio Chair and the undulating wooden interiors of Villa Mairea. His buildings and furnishings prioritized human scale and material warmth over strict geometric abstraction, establishing a foundational model for Nordic design that influenced generations of architects and product designers across Europe and North America.

Source: Christies Artsy · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Geometric Abstraction

Medium

—

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago Victoria and Albert Museum

Canonical record

Artworks (56)

Stool 60

Victoria and Albert Museum

Town Center, Seinajoki, Finland

Town Center, Seinajoki, Finland

5 3/4 x 47 1/4 x 23 3/4" (14.6 x 120 x 60.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Church of the Three Crosses, Vuoksenniska, Imatra, Finland, Section model

Church of the Three Crosses, Vuoksenniska, Imatra, Finland, Section model

26 1/2 x 31 1/8 x 7 1/4" (67.3 x 79.1 x 18.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Stool (model X600)

Stool (model X600)

1954 · Birch and leather

18 1/4 x 18 1/8" (46.4 x 46 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Wall Relief for the Helsinki Pension Institute

Wall Relief for the Helsinki Pension Institute

1953 · Bent laminated birch plywood and metal

51 1/2 x 8 x 5 1/2" (130.8 x 20.3 x 14 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Stool (no. V63)

Stool (no. V63)

1946 · Solid and laminated wood and rattan

17 3/4 x 17 1/2" (45.1 x 44.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Stools (model Y61)

Stools (model Y61)

1946 · Wood and cotton webbing

Each: 16 7/8 x 16 1/8 x 16 1/8" (42.9 x 41 x 41 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1946 · Birch and glass

17 1/4 x 29 1/8 x 29 1/8" (43.8 x 74 x 74 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Town Center, Avesta, Sweden

Town Center, Avesta, Sweden

2 1/2 x 18 1/8 x 14 1/4" (6.4 x 46 x 36.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Bathmat (Furnishing Fabric)

Bathmat (Furnishing Fabric)

1940 · Linen, cotton, and rayon, plain weave; double cloth

276.6 × 56 cm (108 7/8 × 22 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Panel (Intended as a Bathmat) (Furnishing Fabric)

Panel (Intended as a Bathmat) (Furnishing Fabric)

1940 · Linen, plain weave; double cloth

292.7 × 56 cm (115 1/8 × 22 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Cantilevered Armchair (model 406)

Cantilevered Armchair (model 406)

1939 · Laminated birch and rattan

32 1/4 x 24 x 28 7/8" (81.9 x 61 x 73.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Dish (model 9768)

Dish (model 9768)

1 1/8 x 11 5/16 x 8 1/8" (2.9 x 28.7 x 20.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lighting Fixture for the Finnish Pavilion, New York World's Fair

1938 · Painted steel

33" (83.8 cm), shade diam. 14 1/8" (35.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lighting Fixture for the Finnish Pavilion, New York World's Fair

1938 · Painted metal

shaft: 19" (48.2 cm), shade diam. 10" (25.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Savoy

Victoria and Albert Museum

Savoy or Aalto

Victoria and Albert Museum

"39" Chaise Longue

1936 · Molded birch plywood and cotton webbing

28 7/8 × 24 1/4 × 62 in., 26 lb. (73.3 × 61.6 × 157.5 cm, 11.8 kg) Other (seat): 10 5/8 in. (27 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

1936 · Mold-blown glass

11 5/8 × 12 1/2 × 11 1/8" (29.5 × 31.8 × 28.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

1936 · Mold-blown glass

11 1/2 x 12 1/4 x 11 1/4" (29.2 x 31.1 x 28.6 cm) (irreg.)

Museum of Modern Art

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

1936 · Mold-blown glass

h. 6" (15.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Tea Trolley (model 98)

Tea Trolley (model 98)

1936 · Laminated birch, linoleum, and rubber

22 x 35 1/2 x 18" (55.9 x 90.2 x 45.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

Vase (model 3031 / Savoy)

1936 · Mold-blown glass

5 5/8 × 8 × 6 1/2" (14.3 × 20.3 × 16.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Armchair (model 400) (Cantilevered armchair)

Armchair (model 400) (Cantilevered armchair)

1936 · Laminated birch and upholstery

30 x 29 5/8 x 35" (76.2 x 75.3 x 88.9 cm), seat h. 16 1/2" (41.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 56 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

56 published of 92 catalogued · 69 with image

MoMA
44 publishedof 80 catalogued61 img
The Met
4 published
Art Institute Chicago
4 published4 img
Victoria & Albert
4 published4 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 4)

4 entries · 1 sources

Child's Chair (model 103)
1931 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title
Stacking armchair (model 2)
1929 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title
Convertible Sofa
1930 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title
Cantilevered stacking side chair (model 23)
1930 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title

Record

Images

Bathmat (Furnishing Fabric) (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

4

Movements1

Geometric Abstraction

Collections3

Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago Victoria and Albert Museum

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Victoria and Albert Museum