Dutch Art Deco Hague School Armchair by Hendrik Wouda for Pander, 1924

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Designed in 1924 for Pander & Zonen, this armchair by Hendrik Wouda is one of the rarest and most refined … Read more Designed in 1924 for Pander & Zonen, this armchair by Hendrik Wouda is one of the rarest and most refined expressions of Dutch Art Deco from the 1920s. Extremely dfficult to find - which makes this piece exceptionally rare and sought after, especially in fully original condition.
This particular example is museum-grade: structurally excellent, completely untouched, with its original upholstery still intact. Nothing has been restored or replaced.
Wouda’s language is unmistakable here. The chair is architectural, yet deeply grounded. Its planes are sharp, its construction precise. The oak frame is reduced to essentials but never cold - angular, yes, but balanced by a subtle sensitivity to scale and proportion. The upholstery sits within the frame, not over it. It’s this clarity that gives the chair its presence.
The influence of Frank Lloyd Wright - often referenced in Wouda’s work - came to the Netherlands via H.P. Berlage, who personally met Wright and was the first to introduce his ideas to the Dutch architectural discourse. Wouda worked briefly in Berlage’s office, but ultimately moved beyond the weight of his mentor’s principles. He pushed the architectural idiom further - toward a more restrained, almost radical clarity, and into the realm of furniture.
This chair is part of that evolution.

A similar model is held in the collection of the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, and this design has been featured in the monograph on Wouda’s work (pictures on request and this reference book will be included in the purchase). It is one of the defining examples of the Haagse School, a uniquely Dutch vision of modern luxury - rational, structured, but never rigid. This piece has an attribution mark,
I am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
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