KK47000 Safari Chairs in Leather attributed to Kaare Klint for Carl Hansen & Søn, 2010s, Set of 2

Born in Frederiksberg, Denmark in 1888, architect, designer, and educator Kaare Klint formally trained as a painter at private art schools before going on to study architecture under his father, architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, and Carl Petersen. In 1914, Petersen invited the younger Klint to assist in the design of furniture and fixtures for the Faaborg Museum. Klint opened his own office in 1920, and continued to work for museums for the next two decades, designing furniture for both the Danish Museum of Decorative Art and the Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen.

Klint helped found the Furniture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1923, where he was appointed the first associate professor in furniture design in 1924. Through this position, he inspired several prominent Danish furniture designers, including Poul Kjærholm and Børge Mogensen, who went on to facilitate the international progression of Danish midcentury modernism.

Klint’s work was characterized by high craftsmanship, functionalism, and a love of fine wood. His work was research-driven and placed strong emphasis on a thorough understanding of classical furniture—as well as the evolution of furniture forms—as the basis for new designs, and he endeavored to pass this approach on to his students. Notable projects include the Faaburg Chair (1914), the Propeller Stool and Red Chair (both 1927), the Safari Chair and Deck Chair (both 1933), and Grundtvig’s Church in Copenhagen. The church was originally Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint’s commission, and its construction had begun in 1921; after his father’s death in 1930, Kaare Klint took over, ultimately completing the project in 1940.

Klint was awarded the title of Honorary Royal Designer for Industry in London in 1949 and the C.F. Hansen Medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1954. His work is included in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; Designmuseum Danmark and the Faaborg Museum in Copenhagen; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, among others.

Klint died in Copenhagen in 1954.

Danish furniture manufacturer Carl Hansen & Son is credited with launching the career of Hans J. Wegner, a designer who often is featured on lists of the most important and influential people in furniture design, and is commonly credited as a driving force in the midcentury Danish modern movement.

In 1908, Carl Hansen established a workshop in Odense. In the beginning, the company produced bespoke furniture including dining room sets and bedroom suites. Carl Hansen struggled financially during the 1930s-economic crisis, and in 1934, Carl’s son Holger Hansen took over the family business, renaming the company to Carl Hansen & Søn. With a new contract producing wooden cases for the American sewing machine manufacturer Singer, Holger was able to save the company from financial ruin.

Carl Hansen & Søn sales manager, Ejvind Kold Christensen, kept a close eye on the new breed of Danish furniture designers that emerged in the 1940s. Up until the mid-1940s, Danish architect Frits Henningsen designed for the company, including a series of Windsor chairs, some of which were produced until 2003. In 1949, Kold Christensen introduced Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) to Holger Hansen, after seeing immense potential in the young and undiscovered designer.

Within the first three weeks with the company, Wegner designed the CH22 Lounge Chair, the CH23 Dining Chair, the CH24 Wishbone Chair, and the CH25 Easy Chair for Carl Hansen & Søn. This first collection, which was launched in 1950, would catapult both Wegner and Carl Hansen & Søn to international fame. The sculpturally bold designs of both the Wishbone Chair and the CH25 Easy Chair were a break from tradition, and were considered radical for their time. Wegner’s use of woven paper cord—a substitution material used during the war—for the seat of his CH25 was unprecedented. Holger’s decision to invest in work by a virtually unknown designer was a huge risk, but one that paid off for the manufacturer.

In 1951, the pair, along with Kold Christensen, formalized their partnership and formed a sales group called SALESCO. Active throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, SALESCO was a unique marketing team charged with promoting Hans J. Wegner’s work in Denmark and abroad, though they were also instrumental in the advancement of the mid-century Danish design identity in general. Other notable designs by Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn include the CH29 Sawbuck Chair (1952); the three-legged CH07 Shell Chair (1963)—which was designed for MoMA’s now-iconic competition on low-cost furniture; the CH20 Elbow Chair (1956); and the CH88 Chair (1955)—which existed only as a prototype until it was produced in 2014 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wegner’s birth.

In 1962, shortly after Kold Kristensen left SALESCO to work with the promising new designer Poul Kjærholm (1929-1980), Holger passed away. The company was left to Holger’s widow, Ella Hansen, who safely steered the company through financial difficulty. In 1988, Ella’s son Jørgen Gerner Hansen took over management of the company, and in 2001, her other son Knud Erik Hansen assumed leadership. During the early-2000s, the company moved to a larger factory in Aarup, located outside Odense.  

In 2011 and 2012, Carl Hansen & Søn bought the equally renowned Danish cabinet maker Rud. Rasmussen in Copenhagen and the furniture manufacturer P.J. Furniture in Store Heddinge.

Today, Carl Hansen & Søn is the largest manufacturer of furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner. Other historical and contemporary designers include Tadao Ando, Mogens Koch, Ole Wanscher, Kaare Klint, Thomas Bo Kastholm—son of the famous Danish architect Jørgen Kastholm, Poul Kjaerholm, and the Danish design duo Strand & Hvass.