Eero Saarinen was born in Kirkkonummi, Finland in 1910. He studied in Paris and at Yale University, after which he joined his father's practice. Eero initially pursued sculpture as his art of choice - and his later architectural and furniture designs reflect this beautifully. The design of the tulip chair and table is undeniably sculptural - its elegantly organic lines are as much art as function. After a year in art school, he decided to become an architect instead.

Saarinen first received critical recognition, while still working for his father, for a chair designed together with Charles Eames   for the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition in 1940, for which they received first prize. This chair, like all other Saarinen chairs was taken into production by the Knoll furniture company, founded by the Saarinen family friend Florence (Schust) Knoll together with her husband Hans Knoll. Further attention came also while Saarinen was still working for his father, when he took first prize in the 1948 competition for the design of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, not completed until the 1960s. The competition award was mistakenly sent to his father.

During his long association with Knoll he designed many important pieces of furniture  including the Grasshopperlounge chair and ottoman (1946), the Womb chair and ottoman (1948), the Womb settee (1950), side and arm chairs (1948-1950), and his most famoustulip chair orPedestal group (1956), which featured side and arm chairs, dining,coffee and side tables, as well as a stool. All of these designs were highly successful except for the Grasshopper lounge chair, which, although in production through 1965, was not a big seller. His Womb chair and ottoman, as well as his Tulip collection, have remained in production and are considered iconic.

Saarinen evolved a remarkable pallet of materials and forms, innovative use of materials and uniquely sculptural shapes - but always with a pragmatic focus upon function. His style has been described as International and Expressionist - and indeed it is both: Utilizing a vocabulary of forms that was undoubtedly influenced by the work of designers in many countries and cultures, he produced work that pushes the boundaries of our expectations and preconceptions.

For Eero, architecture was a discipline like the fine arts, and in particular, sculptures. He called himself a form giver and everything he designed had a strong sculptural quality.

Eero Saarinen died in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1961.