Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer, known for his simple, yet robust designs. Born in Finland in 1910, his father was the well-known architect Eliel Saarinen. After emigrating to the the USA at the age of thirteen, the young Eero learnt his trade at the Cranbrook Academy of Arts. Here, he became close friends with fellow design students Charles and Ray Eames, as well as Florence Knoll (née Schust).
Saarinen first received critical recognition, while still working for his father, for a chair designed together with Charles Eames for the Organic Design in Home Furnishings Competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1940. They received First Prize. The Tulip Chair, designed later, was taken into production by the Knoll Furniture Company. This started a long association with Knoll in which Saarinent designed many important pieces of furniture, including the Grasshopper Lounge Chair and the Womb Chair and Ottoman. Eero died tragically in 1961, aged just 51.
