Marco Zanuso studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano from 1935–1939 and opened his own design office in 1945. His early work explored bent metal and plastic upholstered furniture pieces which he received great recognition for at the International Competition for the Design of Low-Cost Furniture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1948. That same year, Arflex, a division of Pirelli, commissioned him to design their first furniture models. Zanuso’s Antropus chair was released in 1949, followed by the Lady Armchair, which took first place at the 1951 Milan Triennale. Zanuso’s trademark designs elegantly combine sleek lines with ultimate comfort.