Side Chair

This version of the slant-back side chair is an early variation of what would become one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most notable designs. This chair may have been one of ten that Wright made for his home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois, between 1899 and 1904. The distinctive form, with diagonal back panel, planar construction, and strict geometric elements, adheres to the principles of his Prairie School Style architecture. Wright designed several similar chairs for roughly contemporaneous commissions, including the Francis W. Little House in Wayzata, Minnesota. The living room from the Little house is on view in the American Wing (gallery 745).

Credit: Gift of William and Mary Drummond, 1981