The Personal Property Appraisers Post

We all know this iconic chair and we know it was designed in 1929 for the German national pavilion at the Barcelona world's fair, from which the chair was named. Two of these chairs were created and set side by side to receive the king and queen of Spain on their official visit to the building. The broad, white tufted leather chairs were modern thrones. The design was based upon the ancient Roman X-frame curule stool which was reserved for the most powerful.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is credited for the design of this chair. But many of us might not know that Lilly Reich (1885-1947) played an enormous role in the development of many of Mies van der Rohe’s designs. Though she has been credited in a few scholarly journals and books, her name has largely been forgotten. It is interesting to note that Mies did not fully develop any furniture designs successfully before and after his professional and personal relationship with Lilly Reich.

After all, architecture and industrial design were considered a man’s domain. There were male as well as female practitioners, and yet history books are filed with primarily men’s. When Mies was asked to design the German Pavilion, he chose Reich as his co-collaborator. Reich was responsible for the curvilinear forms and vivid colors of Mies work. She brought a soupçon of sophistication to their designs. She understood that fashion was integral component. Reich continually explored the visual as well as tactile qualities exploring the contrasts between polished metal and textured surfaces.

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In 1930, when Mies was chosen to head Bauhaus, he took Reich with him to head the weaving studio and interiors workshop. Many viewed her as Mies assistant and did not give credence to the forward-thinking, well-trained and successful designer that she was. She was met with criticism. She also became the first woman (at a time when few women served as instructors) to teach interior design which included also furniture design.

When Mies left Germany in 1938, Reich continued to manage his personal and business affairs. An absolute professional, she was talented and she was keen. She remained indispensable to him long after his departure to the US. She took care of his office, his legal disputes and saved his drawings. She helped his family financially -- his ex-wife and three children -- who had been left behind. During their partnership, Reich bowed to his authority leaving the overall concepts to him while compulsively attending to refinements and details.

In September 1939, Reich visited Mies in Chicago. They spent a few weeks together. Mies did very little to persuade her to remain. She returned to Germany to deal with a copyright case against the company Mauser regarding steel-tube furniture she developed with Mies. And then the war broke out. She faithfully continued a long and dutiful correspondence with Mies. But she never saw him again.


The Barcelona chair was produced commercially by a series of European manufacturers before WWII. In 1948, Knoll Studio attained exclusive rights to manufacture this chair with the Knoll Studio logo and the Mies signature stamped onto the frame. The original chrome-plated steel frame was replaced with stainless steel and the area where the bars intersect was refined. It was not until the 1970s when other manufacturers began producing knock-offs.

So the next time we have the opportunity to appraise a Barcelona chair, under the category of “designer” shouldn't we consider Lilly Reich's name?