Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007)
Among Danish furniture designers, Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) is considered one of the most creative, innovative and prolific. Often referred to as the master of the chair, Wegner designed more than 500 chairs in his lifetime – many of them considered masterpieces. Best known as ‘the Master of the Chairs,’ Wegner created fascinating modern furniture that was both innovative and experimental. He was a furniture designer and a modernist that emphasized the practicality and uniqueness in each piece that he crafted. He believed the versatility and functionality of his designs were as vital as the aesthetic of them, which is visible in every Hans Wegner furniture piece.
Iconic Papa Bear Chair and Ottoman
Born in Tønder, a southern Denmark town, Wegner discovered he had a talent in woodworking at an early age. While apprenticing at H.F. Stahlberg, Wegner designed his first chair at the age of 17 in 1931. When he visited Copenhagen to fulfill his military service, Wegner saw the annual exhibitions of the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild, a trade exhibition where some of the best carpenters and architects of the time got invited, and realized that he needed to improve his skills considerably before he could open his own workshop.
Wegner was part of the spectacular generation that created, what is today referred to as ‘the Golden Age’ of modern Danish design. “Many foreigners have asked me how we made the Danish style,” Wegner once said. “And I’ve answered that it was rather a continuous process of purification, and for me of simplification, to cut down to the simplest possible elements of four legs, a seat, and combined top rail and armrest.”
The core of Wegner’s legacy is his focus on bringing the inner workings – the soul – of the furniture to the exterior, where the simplicity and functionality can be appreciated.
The son of a cobbler, Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder, a town in southern Denmark. He began his apprenticeship with Danish master cabinetmaker H. F. Stahlberg when he was just 14 years old. Three years later he moved to Copenhagen and attended the School of Arts and Crafts from 1936 to 1938 before setting out as a designer.
He decided to attend the School of Arts and Crafts in 1936. In 1940, Wegner joined architects and designers Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in Aarhus, working on furniture design for the new Aarhus City Hall. That same year, Wegner began collaborating with master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, who was a driving force in bringing new furniture design to the Danish public. This experience motivated Wegner to open his office in 1943 and start designing home furniture and some office pieces in which he utilized measurement studies and dimensional analysis to create. Historic furniture styles including the English Windsor chair, rustic American Shaker furniture, and 17th Century Chinese chairs were part of his influences and inspiration. A few of his most iconic and desired chairs are the CH24, also known as the Wishbone Chair, the Flag Halyard Chair, the Circle Chair and the iconic Papa Bear Chair. The original vintage versions of these chairs are highly coveted and by designers and collectors.
Circle Chair (Left), Flag Halyard Chair (Center), CH24 Wishbone Chair (Right)
