A STORY OF OUR CATS SHREDDING FURNITURE, A DESIGNER CHAIR, AND MARCEL BREUER – FAMED MODERNIST ARCHITECT & FURNITURE DESIGNER!

I was up and out last Saturday morning (February 27, 2021) at 7:30 a.m. taking Galena (our golden retriever with a curly tail) for her walk.

 

Before I approached Cooley Avenue at the edge of our driveway – I looked left and saw Smokey and Gingy – our two outdoor cats (mother and son) sitting on the designer chair in our front porch (see attached photograph #1) taking in the view of Jefferson Park (see #2).

 

February 27 was no ordinary day – this was the day the full moon, also known as the Snow Moon, was sighted in our neighborhood because, for a change, we had clear, instead of the usual overcast, skies.

 

My late wife (Sarah) and I are from New York City (Queens) and moved to Cleveland in 2001.

 

 

One of our chairs, in the New York apartment, had a metal frame – and it was always referred to, very affectionately by both of us, as the Marcel Breuer chair – because a number of Mr. Breuer’s chairs had metal frames – even though it was not really designed by him. The designation of this chair as a Marcel Breuer chair – added a touch of class in an apartment with lots of stuff from Goodwill and similar stores and in a dull brick-covered building that reminded one of worker-housing. See #3 for examples of two chairs with metal frames designed by Mr. Breuer – the Wassily Chair in 1925-26 and the Cesca Chair in 1928.

 

Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. One of the Structural Engineering consultants I had worked for in New York City – had designed a number of buildings in New York for Mr. Breuer including the Whitney Museum of American Art, and also notable buildings in Cleveland – including the 1971 addition to the Cleveland Museum of Art with the two-toned granite facade, and the high-rise 9 Cleveland (formerly known as the Ameritrust Tower and completed in 1971) at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 9th Street.

 

We have always had cats for pets – 18 indoor cats so far over a 50-year period – all rescued from outside. And you can bet – they not only enjoyed sitting on the Marcel Breuer chair – forcing us to find other places to sit -- but also loved scratching the cushioned seat and back. No big deal! Sarah who was very good at sewing, in addition to many other skills, made a cover for all our furniture with cloth cushions and backs. And before the covers were literally torn to shreds – she had sewn a replacement. Our cats were free to sit anywhere they wanted and scratch whatever they pleased. Sarah always said – our pets owned the place and we were simply caretakers.

 

 

A few years ago – after her passing away – the back of the Marcel Breuer chair (since moved from New York City to Cleveland) had been extensively scratched – so I got a seat and back with a flowery pattern from Marc’s and put it on top to cover the scratched portions.

 

Two years ago – the Marcel Breuer chair was moved to the front porch.

 

Other lovers of Mr. Breuer works would be pleased to know that a chair he never designed, but bears his name, is now sitting in a porch facing Cleveland’s Jefferson Park and is used by outdoor cats -- Smokey and Gingy and once in a while by other cats passing by.