Design Icon: Fritz Hansen Ant Chair
A masterpiece with icon status, the Ant Chair is one of Fritz Hansen’s best selling designs.
With an instantly recognisable silhouette, the Fritz Hansen Ant Chair is delicate and elegant yet boasts remarkable strength and comfort. Designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1952, the chair's minimal design consists of two simple elements: tubular steel legs and a springy shell formed out of 9 layers of moulded plywood veneer.
Despite its global (and long sustained) success, Ant is actually a story of what may not have been. Originally viewed by Fritz Hansen as not having a commercial appeal, the design went on to prove extremely popular in both commercial and residential settings. Ant even acted as an evolutionary building block for the Fritz Hansen Series 7 Chair - the company's most sold chair in history.
History of the Ant Chair
Who designed the Fritz Hansen Ant Chair?
The iconic Ant Chair was designed and developed by the great Danish architect Arne Jacobsen. He was a prolific mid-century designer, whose work extended into wallpaper, furniture, textiles and silverware design. By the end of the 1950s, Jacobsen had produced several pieces that would go on to be design classics: The Ant, The Swan and The Egg to name but a few.
With an unquenchable desire to create, Jacobsen’s creative process centred on his strict attention to detail. According to Fritz Hansen, Arne Jacobsen enjoyed painting, studying nature and tending to his saplings. He had a warm, self-deprecating sense of humour evident in his hand-drawn Christmas cards. But there was another side to the designer, Arne Jacobsen was also notoriously difficult to work with. Sarcastic and demanding, he often required his own staff to work around the clock. His legacy – as a rebellious, pioneering and uncompromising modernist designer - reflects his complex nature.
When was the Fritz Hansen Ant Chair designed?
Arne Jacobsen’s Ant Chair was originally developed in 1951 for a Danish pharmaceutical company called Novo Nordisc who wanted a light, compact chair for their new canteen. The company only ordered 300 chairs so the Ant's early days weren’t exactly successful. Believing in his design, Arne Jacobsen turned to danish furniture producer Fritz Hansen.
Though initially hesitant about the Ant’s potential Fritz Hansen agreed to put the chair into production. The Danish design brand officially launched the Ant Chair on 24 October 1952, their 80th anniversary. Ant was first shown at the Danish Society of Arts and Crafts exhibition in Zurich. The chair’s original name was the Model 3100 but it became known as the Ant (Myren in Danish) chair because of its resemblance to an ant with its head raised. Ant would later shoot the names of Jacobsen and Fritz Hansen into the elite of furniture designers.
Why did Arne Jacobsen’s Ant Chair become such a groundbreaking design?
The Ant Chair predates all of Jacobsen’s other iconic designs and it was his first international breakthrough. When it was first launched the original had only three legs and no arms - a radical approach to chair design at the time. Using a forward-thinking technique that developed on Fritz Hansen’s experience in bending wood, Ant was the first Danish chair featuring a curved shell moulded from a single piece of laminated wood. The seat gently flows into the backrest which makes for a highly comfortable seating solution.
Another feature which made the Ant chair so groundbreaking was its ability to be stacked - something that wasn't very common in the 1950's. This practical, lightweight, stackable design proved to be a multifunctional chair that was suitable for corporate and hospitality settings but could also be used in people’s homes. This was not an industrial design as such, but an industrially manufactured chair for everyday use.
Where can the Ant Chair be placed?
Though originally created for a corporate canteen environment, the Ant Chair is so versatile it can be used anywhere. Whether placed in a restaurant or in a dressing room, Arne Jacobsen’s Ant Chair looks right at home.
What colours and finishes does the Ant Chair come in?
The Ant Chair is available in an extensive number of finishes including a wide range of natural wood veneers such as walnut, oak and cherry. Prefer a bolder colour? In 2021 Fritz Hansen collaborated with gallerist and design curator Carla Sozzani, to introduce a playful, contemporary colour palette. The colours are available with a lacquered finish which has a smooth, modern look. Alternatively, the same colours are also available in coloured ash, where the wood grain is still visible. This huge range of shell options, alongside seven base finishes, allows for total customisation of the Ant Chair.
Shop the Fritz Hansen both the Fritz Hansen Ant 4 Leg Chair & Ant 3 Leg Chair at Utility today.
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