5 OVERLOOKED DANISH CHAIRS
Do you recognise these overlooked Danish chairs from the 1950s and 1960s?
We've selected five Danish chairs that we feel were underestimated in the history of Danish design.
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1.
Steen Østergaard
The dancing chair, 1968
At first glance, this successful chair looks like an armchair, reminiscent of Poul Kjærholm's PK 22 from 1955. Some might even say it resembles Miles van der Rohe's Barcelonastol from 1929, but Østergaard's Steel-Line chair distinguishes itself with its dancing spring steel legs and its elegant, sweeping steel construction. This is also why the chair was given the nickname Tango.
The Steel-Line chair is elegant and comfortable—two words that can be difficult to unite in a single chair. Steen Østergaard was employed at Finn Juhl's studio from 1962 to 1966, and later became the head designer at Cado, France & Søn and Abstracta.
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2.
Kai Lyngfeldt Larsen
As the name suggests, Kai Lyngfeldt Larsen's Siesta chair is perfect for a power nap, thanks to its high degree of comfort. The butt leather used has a natural elasticity, and the reclining backrest makes a variety of sitting positions possible. The chair's legs and armrests create a pleasant frame around the seat and backrest, while the crossbars create a strong construction.
This model is known as BO 110 and was created for Bovirke, who worked with Finn Juhl, among others. While Lungfeldt's chair is only seldom seen, we are currently fortunate enough to have one in our warehouse in rosewood and saddle leather, with a perfect patina.
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3.
Helge Vestergaard Jensen
The highback chair, 1963
Helge Vestergaard's name may not be at the forefront of the Danish collective consciousness, but dedicated collectors at home and abroad keep their eyes peeled for this architect, whose furniture pieces have only ever been produced in small runs, never entering mass production. With his background as a furniture builder, Vestergaard worked closely with the craftsmen that produced his furniture designs. In 2018, one of Vestergaard's rarer armchairs was sold by Bruun Rasmussen Auctions for a world record price of 280,000 DKK (about £33,400), four times higher than the value it was appraised at. This speaks to the demand that exists for his furniture.
In the 1940s, Vestergaard worked for some of the great architects of the time, such as Kaare Klint and Vilhelm Lauritzen.
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4.
Johannes Andersen
There is little doubt that the designer behind a chair like this one made craftsmanship a priority. The back of the chair requires solid, sublime carpentry, a requirement that producer Christian Linneberg's furniture factory lived up to.
Johannes Andersen is known for his dining tables, and especially for his Smile coffee table, which garnered significant attention in the United States. It is considered an icon today. Johannes Andersen also designed storage cabinets and a unique folding bar on wheels, today considered a collectible.
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5.
Poul Volther
The unique chair, 1952
This unique easy chair by Poul Volther was exhibited by cabinetmaker Erhard Rasmussen at the Copenhagen Cabinetmaker's Guild Exhibition in 1952, were it got the attention of King of Denmark Frederik the 9th and resulted in him buying an example of the piece. From there only two more was produced, one of them Volther kept for himself and the second one was lost. Despite the difficult production methods needed to manufacture this piece, KLASSIK STUDIO put the chair in production in 2018 with close cooperation with the Volther family.
Poul Volther took the cabinetmakers degree and took over the position as head of the design department at FDB after Børge Mogensen in 1950.
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