Have a Seat!
The Beylerian Collection of Small Chairs

June 28, 2007 - October 28, 2007

“The main idea behind the years of collecting miniature chairs has been my interest in exploring the tremendous variation in the design of a chair.” George Beylerian, collector

Have a Seat! The Beylerian Collection of Small Chairs shows the amazing range of creative expression found in this diminutive furniture form. The exhibition features over 350 miniature chairs collected from around the world, from the functional--used by manufacturers for promotion--to the fantastical--created by artists unfettered by the need for actual use. The chairs, ranging in size from 1/2 inch to 12 inches high, demonstrate both technical virtuosity and artistic creativity.

The collection documents the enthusiastic dedication of its owner, George Beylerian. Beylerian has been involved with the business of chairs for more than thirty years—as a merchant, a manufacturer, a design consultant, and most recently, a collector. He received his first miniature chair as a trade promotion gift. It lived on a shelf for several years, eventually joined by a twig love-seat, then several more. As this modest family grew, the obsession to find more and more chairs became an active quest. The chairs may be small, but the collection now numbers in the hundreds. Many he found himself, in flea markets and antique shops around the world; many more came from friends and colleagues, happy to have a reason to gather these small and appealing treasures.

The exhibition also allows visitors to explore a fascination with small chairs in both historical and contemporary times. Miniature furniture has delighted and charmed adults as well as children since the seventeenth century. Within the field of miniature furniture, chairs seem to have always held pride of place among designers and artisans and among most collectors. Why were so many of these “useless” reminders of daily life actually made? Unproven theories abound: some suggest that they were samples for traveling salesmen, others suggest they were practice projects for apprentices. The truth may lie in the eternal allure of the miniature, which suggests a world in which fantasy and imagination triumph over practical function.

For more information about the exhibition, and the chairs pictured on the right, click here.

For related public programs, click here.