Alvar Aalto Furniture

Mount Angel Abbey Library houses one of the largest collections of Alvar Aalto furniture in North America. The great majority of chairs, desks, tables, cabinets, shelving, and light fixtures in the library are of Aalto design. Below are some of the more outstanding examples of the library’s Aalto furniture collection.

Cantilevered (left) and closed-frame (right) armchairs - laminated wood, padded, and upholstered seat and back (1932-1933). The zebra fabric was designed by Aalto's first wife.
Bent-wood construction - cantilevered upholstered armchair and vintage L-leg construction round table.
Birch bent-wood construction armchair (detail).
Black leather armchair, with leather rattan arms (detail).
Black leather armchair, with birch wood rattan arms (detail).
Black leather armchair, with wood rattan arms (detail).
Birch wood fan-leg table with bent-wood chairs.
Bent-wood Aalto chairs with padded seats surround table.
Vintage tea trolley 900, c. 1937, with black tile top, woven basket, and white wheels.
Library auditorium chairs - in the library at Mount Angel Abbey.
Vintage cantilevered chaise with “spring leaf support,” c. 1937 Aalto was one of the first to deviate from the stiff geometry of the early modern movement and to stress informality in a simple and humane style.
Fan-leg, bent-wood construction of chair leg (detail).
The famous three legged, L-leg stacking stools, arranged with fixed lighting for individual study. The bookshelves in the background are also of Aalto design.