Ant chair
Arne Jacobsen's light, stackable chair of 1952, a moulded veneer shell on slim steel legs, made by Fritz Hansen.
- Designed by
- Arne Jacobsen
- Made by
- Fritz Hansen
- First made
- 1952
Pictures © Fritz Hansen, from fritzhansen.com.
Why it is renowned
The Encyclopaedia Britannica names Arne Jacobsen's three-legged stacking chair of 1952 — the Ant — among the industrial designs for which he is known internationally, together with the Egg chair.1 The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has held an Ant chair of 1952, in plywood, metal and plastic, since 1996.2
Recognition
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art21996an Ant chair of 1952 in its collection
The story
Jacobsen designed the Ant in 1952 for the canteen of the Novo pharmaceutical factory in Frederiksberg; its Danish name is Myren, the ant, for the outline of its shell.34 The first model had a seat of form-moulded laminated veneer on three legs.3 Fritz Hansen is said to have been reluctant to produce it, but an order of 300 chairs from Novo convinced the company to put it into production; the legs were later made in tubular steel and a four-legged version followed.3
Sources
- Arne Jacobsen, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com, read 28 September 2026.
- Arne Jacobsen, Ant chair, 1952, SFMOMA. sfmoma.org, read 28 September 2026.
- Ant (chair), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org, read 17 October 2026.
- Ant chair, 3 legs, 3100, Fritz Hansen. fritzhansen.com, read 21 October 2026.
Checked 21 October 2026, against the maker's own pages.