OLE WANSCHER for FRITZ HANSEN
Denmark
1940s
Beechwood, vintage velvet
24″ wide x 34″ high x 24″ deep (seat height 16.5″)

The designers of the early Scandinavian Modern era, especially those in Denmark, were directly inspired by English furniture of the Georgian era. We can see that influence in Ole Wanscher’s 1755 armchair for Fritz Hansen. The generous proportions, the pierced cross slats, clearly derive from Chippendale ribbon-back chairs.

And yet Wanscher’s interpretation is fresh and modern. Perhaps it’s the effect of his streamlining the curves and ornamentation of the English chairs that he admired.