A Modernist season
Immerse yourself in all things modernist with our dedicated season of exhibitions and programs, including events, talks and tours, commencing this July across Rose Seidler House and the Museum of Sydney.
Sun deck and mural, Rose Seidler House. Photo © Nicolas Watt for Sydney Living Museums
Eero Saarinen Womb chair
The furniture and fittings at Rose Seidler House have been arranged as they were when Harry Seidler’s parents, Rose and Max were living there. One of the most interesting pieces is the ‘Womb chair’, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948. The chair demonstrates one of the earliest uses of moulded fibreglass in furniture construction and was designed at the request of Saarinen’s friend Florence Knoll, who wanted a chair that she could ‘really curl up in’.
Most of the furniture in the house today was either bought by Seidler from New York showrooms or designed and manufactured in Australia expressly to his specifications for use in the house. The pieces form one of the most important post World War II design collections in the country and are an absolute ‘must see’ for interior design enthusiasts.