PHOTOGRAPHING OBJECTS EXHIBITION

A Modern Icon - The Chair

The chair used in Lewis Morley's iconic portrait of Christine Keeler

A chair inspired by one of the most successful 20th-century furniture designs is at the centre of the story of one of the Victoria and Albert Museum's most unexpected recent acquisitions.

The chair on which Christine Keeler sat in the celebrated portrait session has been correctly identified as a 'knock-off', or imitation, of the classic Arne Jacobsen model 3107 chair. Photographer Lewis Morley had bought half a dozen of them in a sale at Heal's for five shillings apiece in 1960.

Although other museums had expressed a strong interest in the chair it was felt that the V&A had to be the perfect place for the chair for two reasons: because it has great collections of both photography and furniture, and because the chair is a British cultural icon.

Underside of the chair showing names of sitters

The chair is inscribed underneath by Lewis with the many famous sitters who have graced it, including Sir David Frost, Joe Orton and Dame Edna Everage, plus the names of the donors.

Left: Arne Jacobsen, chair, model 3107, 1957. Museum no. CIRC.371-1970. Right: the Keeler chair

The chair is a pledged gift from Lewis Morley and John and Laura Knaus on loan from the American Friends of the V&A, Inc.

If you put the chair alongside the Arne Jacobsen original it is possible to see why the 3107 is a classic.

As Gareth Williams of the Furniture, Textiles and Fashion department at the V&A points out, 'The plywood is much thicker and less subtly moulded. The cinched "waist" of the chair is more pronounced, and the front of the seat is set back too far. Unlike Jacobsen's chair this model has a cut-out handle at the top of the seat, but even this is inaccurately positioned and irregularly cut.'

Lewis Morley's image has become a classic and as widely imitated as Jacobsen's chair. You can see such chairs in second-hand shops described as 'Keeler chairs'.

If you look closely at the photographs, you can see that the back of the chair has been chafed - just like the one now in the V&A. It is touching, somehow, that the perfect photograph was posed in a flawed chair and that both are now in the Museum.

The V&A would like to acknowledge the generosity of Lewis Morley and the Knaus family for the donation of the photographs and the original chair.

Click and drag within the image on the left to see a 360 degree view of the chair. If you cannot see the image you may need to download the Quicktime plugin.