Mid-Century Modern Danish Armchair by Ole Wanscher for France and Son, 1950s

Born in Copenhagen in 1903, Danish architect-designer Ole Wanscher was a key player in Denmark's midcentury modern movement. In the postwar era, the simple and refined aesthetic he achieved by reinventing classic forms helped define Scandinavian design, and many of his pieces became staples in Scandinavian homes.

Wanscher studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under famous architect-designer Kaare Klint (1888-1954). Upon graduating, Wanscher worked with Klint from 1924 to 1927 and, after Klint passed away, Wanscher was given Klint's professorship at the academy —a position he held until he retired in 1973.

In 1927, Wanscher opened his own architecture firm, specializing in furniture design. Like Klint, Wanscher disagreed with the modernist full-sail rejection of the past and preferred to explore classic yet minimal aesthetics informed by precise study of the human body. Wanscher was also heavily influenced by Greek, Chinese, and Egyptian designs—which he encountered during his many travels abroad—as well as proto-modernist movements, like the Viennese Secession, Biedermeier, and Shaker styles.

Between the 1940s and 1960s, Wanscher enjoyed fruitful collaborations with small-scale, artisanal cabinetmakers, like the masterful A. J. Iversen (1888-1979), as well as well as larger-scale Danish companies, such as France & Søn, Fritz Hansen, Poul Jeppesen, and Rud Rasmussen. With Iversen, he created the iconic Ladies Desk (1954) and Egyptian Stool (1957). Other standout Wanscher designs include the PJ-149 Colonial Chair (1949), Rungstedlund Dining Chair (ca. 1950), and PJ-112 Sofa (1951) for Poul Jeppesen; as well as the 110 Rocking Chair (1951) and Senator Easy Chair (1951) for France & Søn .

Wanscher went on to write various articles and publish several books on design history, such as The History of the Arts of Furniture (1956) and Five Thousand Years of Furniture (1967).

Although less known than many of his contemporaries—Finn Juhl, Hans Wegner, Poul Henningsen, and so on—Wanscher made a strong impression on many important critics. In 1958, Sven Erik Moller wrote in Danish newspaper Politiken: "If one owns a chair by Wanscher, it will be an experience every day—perhaps for hundreds of years, because that is how long it will last. One senses the man behind the chair and the value of man-made work…" And in 2003, famous New York Times art critic Roberta Smith commented: "He combined fully and equally the talents of a master craftsman, designer, and sculptor with those of a historian. In particular, his sensitivity to the luster and living delicacy of wood enabled him to bring organic life and a rich sense of the past to the indelibly modern spareness of the International Style."

Wanscher passed away in 1985. Many of Wanscher's design remain in production with Carl Hansen & Søn.

France & Søn—and its predecessor, France & Daverkosen—are among the most sought after names on the vintage market today. Numerous pieces that are still in circulation retain their original identifying labels and were designed by major midcentury Danish designers, like Hvidt & Mølgaard, Grete Jalk, Finn Juhl, Arne Vodder, and Ole Wanscher. It's surprising, then, that so little information about the company's history and evolution has survived.

Most sources agree that the popular Danish manufacturing firm was founded in Denmark around 1948 by British businessman Charles W. France and Danish cabinetmaker Eric Daverkosen. Mattresses may have been the company's first focus, but by 1952 France & Daverkosen had built a large furniture factory in Hillerød, just outside of Copenhagen, and was fast becoming one of most successful Danish furniture companies dedicated to mass production rather than traditional artisanal methods. Seating that features loose cushions and light, teak frames became France & Daverkosen's signature.

In 1957, when France’s son Julian France joined the company, the name was changed to France & Søn. Many models produced by France & Daverkosen had been named FD followed by the model number, and France & Søn continued to produce those designs under their original names while introducing new collections every year. As to what happened to Daverkosen or the reason he left the partnership, no information seems to be available.

Sometime between 1964 and 1967, Danish designer-manufacturer Poul Cadovius purchased France & Søn and renamed it CADO. Cadovius continued to produce France & Søn designs and to collaborate with an impressive roster of iconic designers, including Verner Panton, until he closed shop some time in the mid- to late-1970s. Notable designs produced over two decades by France & Søn and its related companies include the FD145 chair, Minerva sofa, and the Model 523—or Pinwheel—side table by Peter Hvidt and Orla Molgaard-Nielsen (all 1950s); the FD109, FD110 (both 1950s) and Senator chairs by Ole Wanscher (1951); the 209 Diplomat (early 1960s) and Bwana (1964) chairs by Finn Juhl; and the FD164 armchair and ottoman by Arne Vodder (1960s).

Arguably, France & Søn's success in the arena of mass production contributed to its lackluster coverage by design historians; the sheer quantity of its production may have interfered with creating an aura of "specialness." Yet, one surviving story claims that France & Søn was the first—under the direction of Finn Juhl—to figure out how to work with teak at an industrial scale, an impressive feat in the modernist era. Juhl's Model 133 Spadestolen Chair (1953) was the first result. Furthermore, France & Son ensured its products could be easily dismantled, making them cheaper to export. In the late 1950s to early 60s, the company supplied furniture to offices of the International Monetary Fund and created large export markets in Germany and the United States. And the fact that so many France & Søn pieces can be found today in very good condition attests to the company's achievements in quality.