WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen

1910

WA-00029230

Representation

None documented

19

Institutional Exhibitions

20

Works in Collection

22

Assets Indexed

3

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ167073 ULAN500006141

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Transformations in Modern Architecture

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

Philip L. Goodwin Galleries of Architecture and Design

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1964

No image

Eero Saarinen, 1910�1961

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1961

No image

Architecture and Imagery: Four New Buildings

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1959

No image

20th Century Design from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1958–1959

No image

Buildings for Business and Government

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1957

No image

Good Design: 5th Anniversary

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1955

No image

Built in USA: Post-War Architecture

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1953

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

The House in the Museum Garden

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

No image

Printed Textiles for the Home

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1947

Field Verification (3 fields)

2 cross-verified · 1 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearArtsy· 85%✓
NationalityArtsy· 85%

Source Registry (2)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5103
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Artsy (bulk)https://www.artsy.net/artist/eero-saarinen
Tier 1 · Institutional85%

About

Why this artist matters now

Eero Saarinen was an American architect and designer whose sculptural approach to modernist form defined postwar public and institutional space. Working primarily in reinforced concrete, steel, and glass, he created buildings of striking geometric precision that combined functionalist principles with expressive monumentality. His practice encompassed airport terminals, corporate headquarters, and civic structures that treated architecture as a coherent formal object rather than a neutral container. Saarinen's work established a distinctive bridge between European modernism and American optimism in the 1950s.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

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Medium

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Related Artists

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Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Victoria and Albert Museum

Canonical record

Artworks (20)

1984 · Granite and enameled aluminum

20 1/8 × 19 3/4 in., 30 lb. (51.1 × 50.2 cm, 13.6 kg)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Table (model 161 F)

Table (model 161 F)

1957 · Cast aluminum and walnut

514 × 38.4 × 57.2 cm (20 1/4 × 15 1/8 × 22 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Tulip

Victoria and Albert Museum

"Tulip" Armchair (Model No. 150)

1956 · Aluminum, paint, plastic, wool and nylon upholstery, latex rubber foam

31 7/8 × 25 13/16 × 22 13/16 in. (81 × 65.5 × 58 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stool (model 152)

Stool (model 152)

1956 · Cast aluminum with white enamel

45.7 × 37.5 cm (18 × 14 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Tulip Armchair (model 150)

Tulip Armchair (model 150)

1955 · Fiberglass-reinforced polyester and cast aluminum

31 1/2 x 25 1/4 x 23 1/2" (80 x 64.1 x 59.7 cm)

1955 · cast resin fiberglass, metal base, wood veneer tabletop

Diameter: 40.5 cm (15 15/16 in.); Overall: 52 cm (20 1/2 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

1955 · cast resin fiberglass, metal base, artificial leather covered cushions

Overall: 81.5 x 49.5 x 56 cm (32 1/16 x 19 1/2 x 22 1/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Tulip Armchair

1955 · Fiberglass-reinforced plastic and lacquered aluminum with silk upholstery

80.7 × 65.7 × 58.4 cm (31 3/4 × 25 7/8 × 23 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Table

1955 · Lacquered aluminum and marble

52.1 × 55.9 × 40.6 cm (20 1/2 × 22 × 16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Tulip Armchair (model 150)

Tulip Armchair (model 150)

1955 · Fiberglass-reinforced polyester and cast aluminum

31 1/2 x 25 1/4 x 23 1/2" (80 x 64.1 x 59.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

No. 73, "Womb" Sofa

1950 · Chrome-plated steel, molded fiberglass, foam rubber, modern wool-blend upholstery

36 1/4 × 61 × 34 in. (92.1 × 154.9 × 86.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Womb chair

Victoria and Albert Museum

Armchair

1948 · Wood and leather

76.2 × 45.7 × 51.1 cm (30 × 18 × 20 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Womb Chair

1948 · Plastic, latex, and cowhide

89.2 × 99.1 × 90.8 cm (35 1/8 × 39 × 35 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Overall: 88.8 x 66.4 x 83.2 cm (34 15/16 x 26 1/8 x 32 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Overall: 88.9 x 66.4 x 83.2 cm (35 x 26 1/8 x 32 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Set of two Armchairs and a Footstool

Overall: 88.8 x 66.4 x 83.2 cm (34 15/16 x 26 1/8 x 32 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Womb Chair (Exhibited in the US Pavilion in the 1951 Milan Triennale)

Womb Chair (Exhibited in the US Pavilion in the 1951 Milan Triennale)

1946 · Upholstered latex foam on fiberglass-reinforced plastic shell and chrome-plated steel rod base

36 1/2 x 40 x 34" (92.7 x 101.6 x 86.4 cm)

Womb Chair (Exhibited in the US Pavilion in the 1951 Milan Triennale)

Womb Chair (Exhibited in the US Pavilion in the 1951 Milan Triennale)

1946 · Upholstered latex foam on fiberglass-reinforced plastic shell and chrome-plated steel rod base

36 1/2 x 40 x 34" (92.7 x 101.6 x 86.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 20 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

20 published of 20 catalogued · 12 with image

Art Institute Chicago
6 published6 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
5 published
MoMA
4 published4 img
The Met
3 published
Victoria & Albert
2 published2 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 7)

7 entries · 2 sources

Tulip Armchair (model 150)
1955 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title
Womb Chair (Exhibited in the US Pavilion in the 1951 Milan Triennale)
1946 · MoMA · 1 prov
MoMA·title
Footstool
1947 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Pedestal Table
1955 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Pedestal Chair
1955 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Armchair
1947 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Set of two Armchairs and a Footstool
1947 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Tulip Armchair (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

5

Collections5

Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Victoria and Albert Museum

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Victoria and Albert Museum