Marcel Breuer, a Hungarian Jew, was born in Pécs, Hungary in 1902. He studied art in Vienna and began working in a carpentry workshop before developing his tubular steel style of chairs and tables.
He believed his furniture should be cheap, easily dismantled and hygienic. He achieved this by using tightly stretched fabric instead of heavy upholstery and lightweight tubular bars. His most famous example of this was his B3 chair also known as Wassily, which exemplified both of these things. His designs helped transform tubular steel into a symbol of modernity for years to come.
He later moved to the United States where he was inspired by many Harvard design students. After the Second World War he became an architect and was in demand around the world.