This vintage chair and ottoman is an interesting replica of “Red Blue Chair,” Gerrit Rietveld’s most famous piece of furniture. The chair is based on Rietveld’s original 1917 design and features solid wood construction, open frame, ergonomic sloping back and seat, horizontal arms, and satin black painted finish. A removable red padded back cushion and a matching ottoman completes the set. This replica chair and ottoman pairing might be the only example of its type seen on the market. It’s definitely a conversation starter and would add extra seating and sculptural interest to any corner of your home. Despite being primarily made of hardwood, the chair is often described by sitters as “surprisingly comfortable.” No maker’s mark is visible, but the chair was acquired from an artist’s estate, along with another Rietveld replica chair done in solid cherry. The circa 1970s chair and ottoman set is in good condition with wear consistent with age. The wood frames are sturdy and strong with no loose or wobbly joints. The black painted finish remains largely intact but has been touched up. It shows well as is but could also benefit from being repainted. The red back cushion is in excellent condition with no tears or stains. The cushion is affixed to the chair back with hook and loop tape and can easily be removed and recovered, if desired. The chair measures 37” tall, 26” wide, and 33” deep with a seat height of 14.25 inches (at the highest slope) and an arm height of 22 inches. The ottoman measures 14.25” tall (at the highest slope), 24” wide, and 20” deep. Local pick up in Rockville, MD 20853. OPTIONAL SIDEBAR FOR FURNITURE NERDS: Gerrit Rietveld (Utrecht, 1(contact info removed)), a Dutch furniture designer and architect, began working in his father’s furniture workshop at the age of 11. After establishing a furniture business independent of his father, Rietveld produced the first designs of his famous chair in 1917, originally called the “Slat Chair.” Rietveld’s innovative chair design explored the possibility of mass production at a time when furniture finishing and construction was largely done by hand. Rietveld believed that the handcrafted furniture of the time was too heavy, too labor intensive, too tedious to build, and unnecessarily expensive. With his revolutionary chair design, Rietveld reduced the traditional armchair to 13 square battens, 2 rectangular armrests, and 2 rectangular panels forming the seat and back. All pieces were the same thickness, so that they could be industrially cut from one standard piece of timber, to be later assembled by a non-skilled person. Another motivation behind Rietveld’s design was to make furniture that would not break up the room or enclose the space. Rather, he wanted his furniture to share the space and leave it intact. His resulting chair design extracted the essential elements of a traditional armchair and rebuilt them into a masterpiece of functionality, simplicity, and transparency. Rietveld’s early work was characteristic of De Stijl (Dutch for “the Style”), a modernist art movement, also known as Neoplasticism, whose members included Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg. Proponents of De Stijl advocated pure abstraction and universality; reduction to the essentials of form and color; simplified vertical and horizontal visual compositions; and using only black, white, and primary colors. In 1923, on a suggestion from fellow artist Bart van der Leck, Rietveld applied a high-shine lacquer to the chair using primary colors in such a way that the planes of color appeared to float. He also removed the side panels of the original design, after which it was known as the “Rood-blauw stoe” or the “Red Blue Chair.” Rietveld’s other iconic designs include the Zig Zag Chair, Crate Chair, and Press Room Chair, which are admired in museums and modern interiors worldwide.