Mid-Century Interior

My parents' house, now sitting empty in cold Massachusetts, was built in 1955 and furnished during the 1960s. One of the things they bought was this modernist chair, known as the "Womb Chair" as it was supposed to envelop you in womblike seclusion and comfort. It was designed by the same Eero Saarinen who designed Dulles Airport's main building. This chair is a famous mid-century modern design but I always disliked it. Once you got in it you couldn't get out. Sort of like being in a womb I guess. You would struggle to get your butt out of the deep back of the chair and then you would pop out wet and screaming to pick up your drink from the round cocktail table (silhouetted at left) which my father built to go with all the other mid century stuff. In back is one of my mother's lavishly colorful paintings, on a six panel screen that stood up against the wall. This is how it looked in the living room, along with a classic late 50s pole lamp.

As I have stuff removed from the house in advance of selling it, I offered the chair to a local antique store specializing in mid-century modern housewares and furniture. It is supposed to be worth some money but there has been some deterioration over the years so maybe not so much. At least someone will buy it and it will find its way to a better home. I'm still looking for a  home for the art, which is large and difficult to display.

Technical pen black ink on sketchbook page, 8 1/2" x 8 1/2", March 13, 1984.