Danish modern
Encyclopedia
Danish modern, frequently capitalized as Danish Modern, is a vintage style of minimalist wood furniture from Denmark
associated with the Danish design
movement. In the 1920s, Kaare Klint embraced the principles of Bauhaus
modernism in furniture design, creating clean, pure lines based on an understanding of classical furniture craftsmanship coupled with careful research into materials, proportions and the requirements of the human body. With designers such as Arne Jacobsen
and Hans Wegner
and associated cabitnetmakers, Danish furniture thrived in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Adopting mass-production techniques and concentrating on form rather than just function, Finn Juhl
contributed to the style's success, especially in the United States where there has recently been a renewal of interest.
Between the two world wars, Kaare Klint exerted a strong influence on Danish furniture making. Appointed head of the Furniture Department at the Architecture School of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he encouraged his students to take an analytical approach, adapting design to modern-day needs. Adopting the Functionalist
trend of abandoning ornamentation in favour of form, he nonetheless maintained the warmth and beauty inherent in traditional Danish cabinet making as well as high-quality craftsmanship and materials.
The development of modern Danish furniture owes much to the collaboration between architects and cabinetmakers. Cabinetmaker A. J. Iversen
, who had successfully exhibited furniture from designs by architect Kay Gottlob at the Paris World Exhibition in 1925, was instrumental in fostering further partnerships. In 1927, with a view to encouraging innovation and stimulating public interest, the Danish Cabinetmakers Guild organized a furniture exhibition in Copenhagen which was to be held every year until 1967. It fostered collaboration between cabinetmakers and designers, creating a number of lasting partnerships including those between and Rudolph Rasmussen and Kaare Klint, A. J. Iversen and Ole Wanscher, and Erhard Rasmussen and Børge Mogensen. From 1933, collaboration was reinforced as a result of the annual competition for new types of furniture, arranged each year prior to the exhibition.
In the postwar years, Danish designers and architects believed that design could be used to improve people's lives. Particular attention was given to creating affordable furniture and household objects that were both functional and elegant. Fruitful cooperation ensued, combining Danish craftmanship with innovative design. Initially the furniture was handmade but, recognizing that their work would sell better if prices were reduced, the designers soon turned to factory producion. Interest in Danish Modern in the United States began when Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.
from the Museum of Modern Art
purchased some items for the Fallingwater
home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
. This ultimately led to mass production in the United States too.
The scarcity of materials after the Second World War
encouraged the use of plywood. In the late 1940s, the development of new techniques led to the mass production of bent plywood designs by Hans Wegner
and Børge Mogensen, both of whom produced chairs with a teak plywood seat and back on a beech frame. In 1951, Arne Jacobsen
went even further with his sculptural Ant Chair
with a one-piece plywood seat and back, bent in both directions. Collapsable chairs dating from the 1930s include Kaare Klint's Safari Chair and propeller stools which were also developed by Poul Kjærholm and Jørgen Gammelgaard
.
Finn Juhl's home in Charlottenlund
just north of Copenhagen has been preserved as he left it with the furniture he designed. Other major contributors to Danish Modern include Mogens Koch
, Verner Panton
, Jørn Utzon
, Hans J. Wegner and Grete Jalk
. Examples of their work can be seen at Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen. Of particular note are Mogensen's Sleigh Chair, Jacobsen's Swan
and Juhl's sculptural wood-frame seats. One of Wegner's works was used by Nixon
and Kennedy
in a 1960 televised debate and is now known simply as The Chair.
As a result of the furniture school he founded at the Royal Academy in 1924, Klint had a strong influence on Danish furniture, shaping designers such as Kjærholm and Mogensen. His carefully researched designs are based on functionality, proportions in line with the human body, craftsmanship and the use of high quality materials. Notable examples of his work include the Propeller Stool (1927), the Safari Chair and the Deck Chair (both 1933), and the Church Chair (1936).
Poul Henningsen
(1894–1967):
Poul Henningsen, a self-taught inventor and true Functionalist, was an important participant in the Danish Modern school, not for furniture but for lighting design. His attempt to prevent the blinding glare from the electric lamp bulb succeeded in 1926 with a three-shade lamp, known as the PH lamp. The curvature of the shades allowed his hanging lamp to illuminate both the table and the rest of the room. He went on to design many similar lamps, some with frosted glass, including desk lamps, chandeliers and wall-mounted fixtures. Though he died in 1967, many of his designs have remained popular to this day.
Mogens Lassen
(1901–1987):
In addition to his architectural work, Lassen
was also a keen furniture designer. Influenced both by Le Corbusier
and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
, he developed a unique approach to Functionalism. As a result of his fine craftsmanship and his search for simplicity, his steel-based furniture from the 1930s added a new dimension to the modernist movement. His later designs in wood still form part of classical Danish Modern, especially his three-legged stool and folding Egyptian coffee table (1940) originally produced by A. J. Iversen.
Arne Jacobsen
(1902–1971):
Graduating from the Royal Academy in 1924, Jacobsen quickly demonstrated his mastery of both architecture and furniture design. With the completion of his Royal Hotel in Copenhagen and all its internal fittings and furniture in 1960, his talents became widely recognized, especially as a result of the chairs called the Egg and the Swan, now international icons. His stackable, three-legged Ant Chair (1952) with a one-piece plywood seat and back and its four-legged counterpart, the 7 Chair
(1955), were particularly popular with worldwide sales in the millions.
Ole Wanscher
(1903–1985):
Inspired by Kaare Klint under whom he had studied, Wanscher later followed in his footsteps as professor of the Royal Academy's furniture school. Particularly interested in 18th-century English furniture and in early Egyptian furniture, one of his most successful pieces was his delicately designed Egyptian Stool (1960) crafted from luxurious materials. Another successful item was his Colonial Chair in Brazilian rosewood. He was awarded the Grand Prix for furniture at Milan's triennale in 1960.
Finn Juhl
(1912–1989):
Though he studied architecture at the Royal Academy, Juhl was a self-taught designer as far as furniture was concerned. In the late 1930s, he created furniture for himself but from 1945 he became recognized for his expressively sculptural designs, placing emphasis on form rather than function, so breaking tradition with the Klint school. His successful interior design work at the UN Headquarters
in New York spread the notion of Danish Modern far and wide, paving the way for the international participation of his Danish colleagues. Two key pieces of furniture, in which the seat and backrest are separated from the wooden frame, are his 45-Chair, with its elegant armrests, and his Chieftain Chair (1949).
Børge Mogensen (1914-1972):
After studying under Kaare Klint at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts and at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Mogensen adopted Klint's approach to simple, functional furniture design. Taking an almost scientific approach to an item's funtionality, most of his furniture is characterized by strong, simple lines and was designed for industrial production. Notable items include his oak-framed Hunting Chair (1950) with a strong leather back and seat, his light, open Spokeback Sofa (1945), and the low robust Spanish Chair (1959).
Hans Wegner
(1914-2007):
After graduating in architecture in 1938, he worked in Arne Jacobsen and Eric Møller's office before establishing his own office in 1943. Striving for functionality as well as beauty, he became the most prolific Danish designer producing over 500 different chairs. His Round Chair (technically Model500) in 1949 was referred to as "the world's most beautiful chair" before being labelled simply The Chair after Nixon and Kennedy used it in a 1960 televised debate. His Wishbone Chair, also 1949, with a Y-shaped back split and a curved back and was inspired by a Chinese child's chair he had seen. A work of simplicity and comfort, it is still made today by the Danish firm Carl Hansen & Son. Wegner's designs can now be found in several of the world's top design museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art
.
Grete Jalk
(1920–2006):
After training as a cabinetmaker, she studied at the Danish Design School in 1946, while receiving additional instruction from Kaare Klint at the Royal Academy's Furniture School. Inspired by Alvar Aalto
's laminated bent-plywood furniture and Charles Eames
' moulded plywood designs, she began to develop her own boldly curved models in the 1950s. In 1963, she won a Daily Mirror competition wirh her He Chair and She Chair. With the help of furniture manufacturer Poul Jeppesen, she went on to design simpler models with clear, comfortable lines which became popular both in Denmark and the United States thanks to their competitive prices. Jalk also edited the Danish design magazine Mobilia and compiled an authoritative four-volume work on Danish furniture.
Verner Panton
(1926–1998):
On graduating from the Royal Academy in 1951, Panton
worked briefly with Arne Jacobsen. During the 1960s, he designed furniture, lamps and textiles with an imaginative combination of innovative materials, playful shapes and bold colours. Among his earliest designs were the Bachelor Chair and Tivoli Chair (1955), both produced by Fritz Hansen, but he is remembered above all for his Panton Chair (1960), the world's first one-piece moulded plastic chair. Sometimes referred to as a pop artists, unlike the majority of his colleages, he continued to be successful in the 1970s, not only with furniture but with interior designs including lighting.
Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980):
In addition to an academic career at the School of Arts and Crafts and at the Institute of Design at the Royal Academy, Kjærholm always took full account of the importance of place a piece of furniture had in surrounding architectural space. Functionality took second place to his artistic approach which was centred on elegantly clean lines and attention to detail. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he worked essentially with steel, combining it with wood, leather, cane or marble. Kjærhom developed a close understanding with the cabinetmaker E. Kold Christensen who produced most of his designs. Today a wide selection of his furniture is produced by Fritz Hansen
. Kjærholm's work can be seen in New York's Museum of Modern Art
and the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London.
A number of cabinetmakers also developed skills in design. They include:
Several other individuals made important contributions:
entered the market, the Danes countered by producing new designs based on new materials. Sales peaked around 1963 but when American manufacturers introduced moulded plastic and wood-grained Formica as cheaper substitues, they started to decline in favour of Mediterranean designs which became popular in 1966. There has however been
a resurgence of interest in recent years. While the mass-produced works of Wegner, Juhl and Jacobsen are still in demand, collectors are increasingly turning to limited production items from these and the other designers. In the United States, while prices have increased, they are still at reasonable levels compared to similar items of new furniture. Licensed manufacturers have started reissuing key designs while others have used Danish Modern for inspiraton.
A number of firms continue to be active in producing both classic Danish Modern designs and in introducing variants designed by a new generation of artists. They include Republic of Fritz Hansen
, Fredericia Furniture, Carl Hansen & Søn and Normann Copenhagen, all of whom exhibited at the 2011 Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. Other significant producers include PP Møbler, Kjærholm Production and One Connection, formerly known as Hansen & Sørensen.
Innovative design work is also encouraged by the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation with the annual Finn Juhl Prize
which is awarded to designers, manufacturers or writers who have made a special contribution to the field of furniture design, especially chairs.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
associated with the Danish design
Danish design
Danish Design is a term often used to describe a style of functionalistic design and architecture that was developed in mid-20th century. Influenced by the German Bauhaus school, many Danish designers used the new industrial technologies, combined with ideas of simplicity and functionalism to...
movement. In the 1920s, Kaare Klint embraced the principles of Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
modernism in furniture design, creating clean, pure lines based on an understanding of classical furniture craftsmanship coupled with careful research into materials, proportions and the requirements of the human body. With designers such as Arne Jacobsen
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Emil Jacobsen, usually known as Arne Jacobsen, was a Danish architect and designer. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.-Early life and education:Arne Jacobsen was born...
and Hans Wegner
Hans Wegner
Hans Jørgen Wegner, , was a successful Danish furniture designer who contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His work belongs to a modernist school with emphasis on functionality. He is probably best known for his chairs.-Early years:Born to cobbler Peter M...
and associated cabitnetmakers, Danish furniture thrived in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Adopting mass-production techniques and concentrating on form rather than just function, Finn Juhl
Finn Juhl
Finn Juhl was a Danish architect, interior and industrial designer, most known for his furniture design. He was one of the leading figures in the creation of "Danish design" in the 1940s and he was the designer who introduced Danish Modern to America.-Early life and education:Finn Juhl was born on...
contributed to the style's success, especially in the United States where there has recently been a renewal of interest.
Background
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
trend of abandoning ornamentation in favour of form, he nonetheless maintained the warmth and beauty inherent in traditional Danish cabinet making as well as high-quality craftsmanship and materials.
The development of modern Danish furniture owes much to the collaboration between architects and cabinetmakers. Cabinetmaker A. J. Iversen
A. J. Iversen
Andreas Jeppe Iversen, usually known as A.J. Iversen, was a Danish cabinetmaker and furniture designer...
, who had successfully exhibited furniture from designs by architect Kay Gottlob at the Paris World Exhibition in 1925, was instrumental in fostering further partnerships. In 1927, with a view to encouraging innovation and stimulating public interest, the Danish Cabinetmakers Guild organized a furniture exhibition in Copenhagen which was to be held every year until 1967. It fostered collaboration between cabinetmakers and designers, creating a number of lasting partnerships including those between and Rudolph Rasmussen and Kaare Klint, A. J. Iversen and Ole Wanscher, and Erhard Rasmussen and Børge Mogensen. From 1933, collaboration was reinforced as a result of the annual competition for new types of furniture, arranged each year prior to the exhibition.
In the postwar years, Danish designers and architects believed that design could be used to improve people's lives. Particular attention was given to creating affordable furniture and household objects that were both functional and elegant. Fruitful cooperation ensued, combining Danish craftmanship with innovative design. Initially the furniture was handmade but, recognizing that their work would sell better if prices were reduced, the designers soon turned to factory producion. Interest in Danish Modern in the United States began when Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.
Edgar Kaufmann, jr.
Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. was an American architect, lecturer, and author.-Early years:He was the son of Edgar J. Kaufmann, a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman and philanthropist who owned Kaufmann's department store. Edgar Jr. attended the School for Arts and Crafts at the Austrian Museum of Applied Art...
from the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
purchased some items for the Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. This ultimately led to mass production in the United States too.
The scarcity of materials after the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
encouraged the use of plywood. In the late 1940s, the development of new techniques led to the mass production of bent plywood designs by Hans Wegner
Hans Wegner
Hans Jørgen Wegner, , was a successful Danish furniture designer who contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His work belongs to a modernist school with emphasis on functionality. He is probably best known for his chairs.-Early years:Born to cobbler Peter M...
and Børge Mogensen, both of whom produced chairs with a teak plywood seat and back on a beech frame. In 1951, Arne Jacobsen
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Emil Jacobsen, usually known as Arne Jacobsen, was a Danish architect and designer. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.-Early life and education:Arne Jacobsen was born...
went even further with his sculptural Ant Chair
Ant (chair)
The Ant chair is a classic of modern chair design.It was designed in 1952 by Arne Jacobsen for use in the canteen of the Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk. The Ant was named for its approximate similarity to the outline of an ant with its head raised.The chair was designed to be light,...
with a one-piece plywood seat and back, bent in both directions. Collapsable chairs dating from the 1930s include Kaare Klint's Safari Chair and propeller stools which were also developed by Poul Kjærholm and Jørgen Gammelgaard
Jørgen Gammelgaard
Jørgen Gammelgaard was a Danish furniture designer who also designed lamps and silverware.-Early life:Gammelgaard was trained as a cabinetmaker at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts and served an apprenticeship at C. B. Hansen's workshop in Copenhagen. He then studied under Grete Jalk and...
.
Finn Juhl's home in Charlottenlund
Charlottenlund
Charlottenlund is a minor palace near Copenhagen in Denmark. In its original baroque form it was built between 1731 and 1733 on the foundations of a palace named Gyldenlund. The palace was named after Charlotte Amalie, the daughter of Frederick IV of Denmark and the sister of Christian VI of...
just north of Copenhagen has been preserved as he left it with the furniture he designed. Other major contributors to Danish Modern include Mogens Koch
Mogens Koch
Mogens Koch was a Danish architect and furniture designer and, from 1950 to 1968, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He was married to the weaver Eva Koch.-Early life and education:...
, Verner Panton
Verner Panton
Verner Panton is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant and exotic colors...
, Jørn Utzon
Jørn Utzon
Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...
, Hans J. Wegner and Grete Jalk
Grete Jalk
Grete Juel Jalk was a Danish furniture designer. From the 1960s, she did much to enhance Denmark's reputation for modern furniture design with her clear, comfortable lines...
. Examples of their work can be seen at Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen. Of particular note are Mogensen's Sleigh Chair, Jacobsen's Swan
Swan (chair)
The Swan is a chair and a couch designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. It is manufactured by Danish furniture manufacturer Republic of Fritz Hansen....
and Juhl's sculptural wood-frame seats. One of Wegner's works was used by Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
in a 1960 televised debate and is now known simply as The Chair.
Main contributors
Kaare Klint (1888—1954):As a result of the furniture school he founded at the Royal Academy in 1924, Klint had a strong influence on Danish furniture, shaping designers such as Kjærholm and Mogensen. His carefully researched designs are based on functionality, proportions in line with the human body, craftsmanship and the use of high quality materials. Notable examples of his work include the Propeller Stool (1927), the Safari Chair and the Deck Chair (both 1933), and the Church Chair (1936).
Poul Henningsen
Poul Henningsen
Poul Henningsen , Danish author, architect and critic, was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the World Wars. In Denmark, he is often referred to as PH.-Early life and education:...
(1894–1967):
Poul Henningsen, a self-taught inventor and true Functionalist, was an important participant in the Danish Modern school, not for furniture but for lighting design. His attempt to prevent the blinding glare from the electric lamp bulb succeeded in 1926 with a three-shade lamp, known as the PH lamp. The curvature of the shades allowed his hanging lamp to illuminate both the table and the rest of the room. He went on to design many similar lamps, some with frosted glass, including desk lamps, chandeliers and wall-mounted fixtures. Though he died in 1967, many of his designs have remained popular to this day.
Mogens Lassen
Mogens Lassen
Mogens Lassen was a Modernist Danish architect and designer, working within the idiom of the International Style. He mainly designed residential buildings, both in the form of single-family houses and apartment blocks...
(1901–1987):
In addition to his architectural work, Lassen
Mogens Lassen
Mogens Lassen was a Modernist Danish architect and designer, working within the idiom of the International Style. He mainly designed residential buildings, both in the form of single-family houses and apartment blocks...
was also a keen furniture designer. Influenced both by Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
, he developed a unique approach to Functionalism. As a result of his fine craftsmanship and his search for simplicity, his steel-based furniture from the 1930s added a new dimension to the modernist movement. His later designs in wood still form part of classical Danish Modern, especially his three-legged stool and folding Egyptian coffee table (1940) originally produced by A. J. Iversen.
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Emil Jacobsen, usually known as Arne Jacobsen, was a Danish architect and designer. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.-Early life and education:Arne Jacobsen was born...
(1902–1971):
Graduating from the Royal Academy in 1924, Jacobsen quickly demonstrated his mastery of both architecture and furniture design. With the completion of his Royal Hotel in Copenhagen and all its internal fittings and furniture in 1960, his talents became widely recognized, especially as a result of the chairs called the Egg and the Swan, now international icons. His stackable, three-legged Ant Chair (1952) with a one-piece plywood seat and back and its four-legged counterpart, the 7 Chair
Model 3107 chair
The Model 3107 chair is one of the most popular chairs in Danish design history. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen, using a new technique in which plywood could be bent in two dimensions. Over 5 million units have been produced exclusively by Fritz Hansen ever since its invention in 1955...
(1955), were particularly popular with worldwide sales in the millions.
Ole Wanscher
Ole Wanscher
Ole Wanscher was a Danish furniture designer. He was one of the leading figures in the Scandinavian Design movement , at a time when Scandinavian Design achieved worldwide popularity....
(1903–1985):
Inspired by Kaare Klint under whom he had studied, Wanscher later followed in his footsteps as professor of the Royal Academy's furniture school. Particularly interested in 18th-century English furniture and in early Egyptian furniture, one of his most successful pieces was his delicately designed Egyptian Stool (1960) crafted from luxurious materials. Another successful item was his Colonial Chair in Brazilian rosewood. He was awarded the Grand Prix for furniture at Milan's triennale in 1960.
Finn Juhl
Finn Juhl
Finn Juhl was a Danish architect, interior and industrial designer, most known for his furniture design. He was one of the leading figures in the creation of "Danish design" in the 1940s and he was the designer who introduced Danish Modern to America.-Early life and education:Finn Juhl was born on...
(1912–1989):
Though he studied architecture at the Royal Academy, Juhl was a self-taught designer as far as furniture was concerned. In the late 1930s, he created furniture for himself but from 1945 he became recognized for his expressively sculptural designs, placing emphasis on form rather than function, so breaking tradition with the Klint school. His successful interior design work at the UN Headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
in New York spread the notion of Danish Modern far and wide, paving the way for the international participation of his Danish colleagues. Two key pieces of furniture, in which the seat and backrest are separated from the wooden frame, are his 45-Chair, with its elegant armrests, and his Chieftain Chair (1949).
Børge Mogensen (1914-1972):
After studying under Kaare Klint at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts and at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Mogensen adopted Klint's approach to simple, functional furniture design. Taking an almost scientific approach to an item's funtionality, most of his furniture is characterized by strong, simple lines and was designed for industrial production. Notable items include his oak-framed Hunting Chair (1950) with a strong leather back and seat, his light, open Spokeback Sofa (1945), and the low robust Spanish Chair (1959).
Hans Wegner
Hans Wegner
Hans Jørgen Wegner, , was a successful Danish furniture designer who contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His work belongs to a modernist school with emphasis on functionality. He is probably best known for his chairs.-Early years:Born to cobbler Peter M...
(1914-2007):
After graduating in architecture in 1938, he worked in Arne Jacobsen and Eric Møller's office before establishing his own office in 1943. Striving for functionality as well as beauty, he became the most prolific Danish designer producing over 500 different chairs. His Round Chair (technically Model500) in 1949 was referred to as "the world's most beautiful chair" before being labelled simply The Chair after Nixon and Kennedy used it in a 1960 televised debate. His Wishbone Chair, also 1949, with a Y-shaped back split and a curved back and was inspired by a Chinese child's chair he had seen. A work of simplicity and comfort, it is still made today by the Danish firm Carl Hansen & Son. Wegner's designs can now be found in several of the world's top design museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
.
Grete Jalk
Grete Jalk
Grete Juel Jalk was a Danish furniture designer. From the 1960s, she did much to enhance Denmark's reputation for modern furniture design with her clear, comfortable lines...
(1920–2006):
After training as a cabinetmaker, she studied at the Danish Design School in 1946, while receiving additional instruction from Kaare Klint at the Royal Academy's Furniture School. Inspired by Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
's laminated bent-plywood furniture and Charles Eames
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in...
' moulded plywood designs, she began to develop her own boldly curved models in the 1950s. In 1963, she won a Daily Mirror competition wirh her He Chair and She Chair. With the help of furniture manufacturer Poul Jeppesen, she went on to design simpler models with clear, comfortable lines which became popular both in Denmark and the United States thanks to their competitive prices. Jalk also edited the Danish design magazine Mobilia and compiled an authoritative four-volume work on Danish furniture.
Verner Panton
Verner Panton
Verner Panton is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant and exotic colors...
(1926–1998):
On graduating from the Royal Academy in 1951, Panton
Verner Panton
Verner Panton is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant and exotic colors...
worked briefly with Arne Jacobsen. During the 1960s, he designed furniture, lamps and textiles with an imaginative combination of innovative materials, playful shapes and bold colours. Among his earliest designs were the Bachelor Chair and Tivoli Chair (1955), both produced by Fritz Hansen, but he is remembered above all for his Panton Chair (1960), the world's first one-piece moulded plastic chair. Sometimes referred to as a pop artists, unlike the majority of his colleages, he continued to be successful in the 1970s, not only with furniture but with interior designs including lighting.
Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980):
In addition to an academic career at the School of Arts and Crafts and at the Institute of Design at the Royal Academy, Kjærholm always took full account of the importance of place a piece of furniture had in surrounding architectural space. Functionality took second place to his artistic approach which was centred on elegantly clean lines and attention to detail. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he worked essentially with steel, combining it with wood, leather, cane or marble. Kjærhom developed a close understanding with the cabinetmaker E. Kold Christensen who produced most of his designs. Today a wide selection of his furniture is produced by Fritz Hansen
Fritz Hansen
Fritz Hansen, also known as Republic of Fritz Hansen is a Danish furniture design company. Designers who have worked for Fritz Hansen include: Arne Jacobsen , Poul Kjærholm , Hans J. Wegner , and Piet Hein...
. Kjærholm's work can be seen in New York's Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
and the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in London.
Other participants
Many other designers and cabinetmakers contributed to the Danish modern scene. Several worked in partnerships, including:- Tove and Edvard Kindt-LarsenEdvard Kindt-LarsenEdvard Kindt-Larsen was a Danish architect and furniture designer who worked closely together with his wife Tove Kindt-Larsen...
(1901–1982), both students of Kaare Klint, working with contrasting materials - Peter HvidtPeter HvidtPeter Hvidt was a Danish architect and furniture designer, co-founder of Hvidt & Mølgaard.-Biography:Hvidt was born in Copenhagen in 1916, the son of L. N. Hvidt, president of the Danish Maritime and Commercial Court. After completing his training at the Design School in Copenhagen, he worked at...
(1916–1986) and Orla Mølgaard-NielsenOrla Mølgaard-NielsenOrla Mølgaard-Nielsen was a Danish architect and furniture designer. After training at the Aalborg Technical School and at the Art and Crafts School of the Design Museum in Copenhagen , Mølgaard-Nielsen studied furniture design under Kaare Klint at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts...
(1907–1993), remembered for the Ax Chair (1950) and the X Chair (1960) - Ejner LarsenEjner LarsenEjner Larsen was a Danish furniture designer who worked closely together with Aksel Bender Madsen.-Biography:Son of cabinetmaker Otto Larsen, he was born in Copenhagen on 30 March 1917. After training as a cabinetmaker, he learnt furniture design at the Design School in Copenhagen, qualifying in...
(1917–1987) and Aksel Bender MadsenAksel Bender MadsenAksel Bender Madsen, often known simply as Bender Madsen, was a Danish furniture designer who worked closely together with Ejner Larsen producing a wide variety of items during the Danish modern period.-Biography:...
(1916–2000) working mainly with teak and rosewood - Preben FabriciusPreben FabriciusPreben Juul Fabricius was a Danish furniture designer who worked together with Jørgen Kastholm. During the 1960s, the pair designed a wide range of pieces for the German Alfred Kill who had a furniture factory in Fellbach near Stuttgart.-Biography:...
(1931–1984) and Jørgen KastholmJørgen KastholmJørgen Kastholm was a Danish furniture designer who worked closely together with Preben Fabricius in the 1960s. The airport furniture he designed can now be seen in some 120 airports. In later life Kastholm was professor of design at Germany's Bergische Universität.-Biography:Born in Roskilde,...
(1938–2007), demonstrating originality with their Horseshoe Chair (1962)
A number of cabinetmakers also developed skills in design. They include:
- Jacob KjærJacob KjærJacob Kjær was a Danish furniture designer and cabinetmaker.Kjær received training as a cabinetmaker in the workshop of his father who was also a furniture maker. After completing his training in Berlin and Paris, he exhibited works at the Barcelona World Exhibition in 1929...
(1896–1957), famous for his FN Chair, who also produced the furniture he designed - Frits HenningsenFrits HenningsenFrits Henningsen was a Danish furniture designer and cabinet maker who achieved high standards of quality with exclusively hand-made pieces....
(c. 1900 – c. 1970), who designed models produced at his own workshop in Copenhagen
Several other individuals made important contributions:
- Mogens KochMogens KochMogens Koch was a Danish architect and furniture designer and, from 1950 to 1968, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He was married to the weaver Eva Koch.-Early life and education:...
(1898–1992), remembered for his bookcases (1928) and folding chair (1932) - Rigmor AndersenRigmor AndersenRigmor Andersen was a versatile Danish designer, educator and author. Above all she is remembered for maintaining the traditions of Kaare Klint's furniture school at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts....
(1903-1995), a versatile designer, maintaining the strict traditions of Klint's furniture school. - Peder MoosPeder MoosPeder Moos was a Danish furniture designer and cabinetmaker who crafted nearly all his pieces himself.-Biography:...
(1906-1991), designed and built individual pieces on request, with his own special finish - Kurt ØstervigKurt Østervig-Biography:Trained as a shipbuilder in Odense on the Danish island of Funen, Østervig's attachment to wood rather than steel led to his being employed as a furniture designer in E. Knudsen's Studio, among the largest of the times. In 1947, Østervig established his own studio, from where he worked...
(1912–1986), trained in Odense, designed furniture for ships and cinemas as well as for the home. - Helge Vestergaard Jensen (1917–1987), who produced the Daybed (1955)
- Hans OlsenHans Olsen (furniture designer)Hans Olsen was a Danish furniture designer who created a number of items in his own distinctive style.-Biography:Although Olsen was a student of Kaare Klint at the Royal Danish Academy's Furniture School from 1941 to 1943, he belongs to a group of Danish furniture designers who chose to experiment...
(1919–1992), who experimented with materials and form, creating a number of items in his own distinctive style. - Nanna DitzelNanna DitzelNanna Ditzel was a Danish furniture designer.She studied at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen graduating in 1946. Her works include cabinet-making, jewellery, tableware and textiles...
(1923–2005), pioneering new materials and production techniques, also working with textiles and jewelry - Poul VoltherPoul VoltherPoul M. Volther was a Danish furniture designer who is remembered above all for his iconic Corona Chair.-Early life:...
(1923-2001), remembered above all for his iconic Corona Chair. - Arne VodderArne VodderArne Vodder was a Danish furniture designer, a close friend and partner of Finn Juhl who had been his teacher.-Biography:...
(1926-2009), a close friend and partner of Finn Juhl, his furniture sold particularly well in the United States. - Bodil KjærBodil KjærBodil Kjær is a Danish architect, furniture designer, professor and researcher, who has specialized in interior design and city planning...
(born 1932), architect and interior designer who created a successful series of office furniture in the 1960s. - Bernt PetersenBernt PetersenBernt Petersen , often known simply as Bernt, is a Danish furniture designer. Trained as a cabinetmaker , he attended Denmark's Design School, graduating in 1960. He then worked for Molibia and Hans J. Wegner before opening his own studio in 1963. He taught at Denmark's Design School and was...
(born 1937), notable for his small, light stool (1959) with beautifully shaped legs and for his seating in theatres and concert halls.
The American market
From the beginning of the 1950s, American manufactuers obtained licenses for the mass production of Danish designs while maintaining high standards of craftsmanship. Later the designs were altered to suit American tastes and American parts were introduced to reduce costs. When Sears and Woolworth'sWoolworth's
Woolworth's, Woolworths or Woolworth may refer to one of several companies or other things:-American F.W. Woolworth Company and businesses descended from or related to it:...
entered the market, the Danes countered by producing new designs based on new materials. Sales peaked around 1963 but when American manufacturers introduced moulded plastic and wood-grained Formica as cheaper substitues, they started to decline in favour of Mediterranean designs which became popular in 1966. There has however been
a resurgence of interest in recent years. While the mass-produced works of Wegner, Juhl and Jacobsen are still in demand, collectors are increasingly turning to limited production items from these and the other designers. In the United States, while prices have increased, they are still at reasonable levels compared to similar items of new furniture. Licensed manufacturers have started reissuing key designs while others have used Danish Modern for inspiraton.
The Danish furniture industry
Employing some 15,000 people, each year Denmark's 400 furniture companies produce goods worth around DKK 13 billion (EUR 1.75 billion). A highly productive sector, over 80% of the furniture produced is sold abroad making furniture Denmark's fifth most important export industry. Most of the items produced are for the home but many are designed for the workplace. In addition to its classic designs, Danish designer furniture benefits from a new generation of innovative players. As a result, Denmark has maintained its place as the world's leading furniture producer in relation to the country's population.A number of firms continue to be active in producing both classic Danish Modern designs and in introducing variants designed by a new generation of artists. They include Republic of Fritz Hansen
Fritz Hansen
Fritz Hansen, also known as Republic of Fritz Hansen is a Danish furniture design company. Designers who have worked for Fritz Hansen include: Arne Jacobsen , Poul Kjærholm , Hans J. Wegner , and Piet Hein...
, Fredericia Furniture, Carl Hansen & Søn and Normann Copenhagen, all of whom exhibited at the 2011 Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. Other significant producers include PP Møbler, Kjærholm Production and One Connection, formerly known as Hansen & Sørensen.
Innovative design work is also encouraged by the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation with the annual Finn Juhl Prize
Finn Juhl Prize
The Finn Juhl Prize is a design prize awarded annually by the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation to a recipient who has made a special effort in the field of furniture design–with special reference to chairs—such as an architecht, manufacturer, writer. Founded in 2003, its name commemorates the...
which is awarded to designers, manufacturers or writers who have made a special contribution to the field of furniture design, especially chairs.
See also
- Danish designDanish designDanish Design is a term often used to describe a style of functionalistic design and architecture that was developed in mid-20th century. Influenced by the German Bauhaus school, many Danish designers used the new industrial technologies, combined with ideas of simplicity and functionalism to...
- Mid-Century modernMid-century modernMid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...
- Modern furnitureModern furnitureModern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the present that is influenced by modernism. It was a tremendous departure from all furniture design that had gone before it. Dark or gilded carved wood and richly patterned fabrics gave way to the glittering...
Literature
- Andresen. Carl Erik: Dansk møbelindustri 1870-1950, 1996, Århus: Systime, 157 p. ISBN 87-616-1265-0
- Greenberg, Cara: Mid-century modern furniture of the 1950s, 1984 (reprinted 2000), London: Thames & Hudson, 176 p. ISBN 0500278598
- Hansen, Per H: Da danske møbler blev moderne: historien om dansk møbeldesigns storhedstid, 2006, Odense, Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 644 pp. ISBN 87-11-23196-3.
- Hansen, Per H.; Petersen, Klaus: Moderne dansk møbeldesign: tendenser, hammerslag og historie, 2007, Copenhagen, Gyldendal, 329 p. ISBN 8702061619
- Hollingsworth, Andrew: Danish Modern, 2008, Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 240 p. ISBN 9781586858117
- Jalk, Grete: Dansk møbelkunst gennem 40 år - 40 years of Danish furniture design, 1987, Tåstrup: Teknologisk Instituts Forlag, 4 volumes: ISBN 8775117118, ISBN 8775117126, ISBN 8775117134 and ISBN 8775117142.
- Karlsen, Arne: Danish furniture design in the 20th century, 2007, Copenhagen: Christian Ejlers, two volumes: 328 p. & 223 p. ISBN 8772416777
- Wanscher, Ole (translated by David Hohnen): The art of furniture: 5000 years of furniture and interiors, 1968, London, Allen & Unwin, 419 p.