The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto designed the present model chair for one of his most famous commissions, a hospital in Paimio, Finland. In the years following this commission, Artek began producing variants of the design. According to the Artek archives, the current lot is an early and rare production example executed in curly birch as a special edition. Due to the difficulty of obtaining this material and production complications, less than twenty examples are known to have been made. Aalto is considered one of the leading figures in modern architecture and design, and this chair represents his iconic use of bent plywood. Aalto’s experiments—where he took very thin sheets of plywood and bent them into two tight curves—were truly groundbreaking and tested the limits of plywood manufacturing at the time. Aalto’s genius results consequently inspired numerous imitations throughout the 20th century. The flowing, organic lines of the chair and the use of birch combine to create not only a comfortable chair with a natural feel but also one of his most famous and beautiful designs.