File:Armchair - Walter von Nessen (39639381251).jpg

Club chair on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Walter von Nessen (1899-1943) was born in Berlin, Germany, and studied design under the famous architect, illustrator, interior designer, and furniture designer Bruno Paul at the Unterrichtsanstalt des königlichen Kunstgewerbe-Museums (Royal School and Museum of Applied Arts). Paul was a member of the Deutscher Werkbund (German Association of Craftsmen), an association of architects, artists, designers, and industrialists established in 1907 to promoted modern architecture and industrial design. He was also an adherent of the Vienna Secession, an Austrian art movement that rejected Historicism and advocated "to each age, its own art".

Von Nessen left Germany for Sweden in 1919, and then emigrated to New York City in 1925. He established the Nessen Studio in 1927, emphasizing the design of lamps. His designs were deeply influenced by the German Bauhaus style and by French and Austrian neoclassicism. He had a massive impact on contemporary lamp design, inventing the swing-arm lamp in 1927. His studio also designed furniture and other home furnishings, emphasizing excellent design over the use of luxury materials.

This 1928 aluminum, brass, and leather chair was designed for R. H. Macy & Co. as part of its International Exposition of Art in Industry.

1. CMAJazzAge