Henning Koppel (8 May 1918 – 27 June 1981) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

artist and designer. He is most known for his work for Georg Jensen in the years after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He also designed porcelain (

Bing & Grøndahl Bing & Grøndahl was a Danish porcelain manufacturer founded in 1853 by the sculptor Frederik Vilhelm Grøndahl and merchant brothers Meyer Hermann Bing and Jacob Herman Bing. The trademark backstamp for Bing & Grøndahl (B&G) porcelains is the t ...

), glass ( Holmegaard) and lamps ( Louis Poulsen & Co).

Early life and education

Koppel was born on 8 May 1918 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, the son of editor and later editor-in-chief of '' Politiken'' Valdemar Koppel (1867–1949) and translator Elise Jørgensen (1880–1974). He graduated from Øregårds Gymnasium in 1934 and then studied under professor Einar Utzon-Frank at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts's School of Sculpture in 1936–37 and at

Académie Ranson The Académie Ranson was founded in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson (1862–1909), who himself studied at the Académie Julian, in 1908.

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1938.

Sculpture

Koppel had his debut as a sculptor at the Artists' Authumn Exhibition in 1935 with an expressive portrait bust. His best works as a sculptor are the busts of Valdemar and Jytte Koppel (1938 and 1942, both in black granite) and Tora Nordstrom Bonnier and Karl-Adam Bonnier (both 1944). He was also represented with drawings on a number of exhibitions.

Design

As a result of his Jewish background, Koppel had to seek refuge in Sweden during

, residing in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1943–44. He attracted considerable attention for his work as a jewelry designer for Svenskt Tenn. Back in Denmark in 1945, he obtained a contract with Georg Jensen, a collaboration that lasted for the rest of his life. His work was rewarded with gold medals on three Milan Triennials in a row in (

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

and

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

). His designs for Georg Jensen included hollowware, jewellery and flatware patterns such as Caravel (silver, 1957) and New York (steel, 1963). In 1961 Koppel also began to work for

. His designs for the company included coffee and tea sets, flatware patterns and a number of jugs and serving dishes. He also designed glassware for Holmegaard and Orrefors. In 1963 he won first prize in a competition for the design of a new series of stamps for Post Danmark, but his design proposal was never realized.

Exhibition

Koppel's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in Denmark and abroad and he is represented in the collections of many leading design museums internationally.

Written works

In 1975, Koppel published a collection of essays titled ''Var der så mere i vejen?''

Personal life

Koppel married Jytte Skouboe Petersen (18 October 1920 – ) in Copenhagen on 14 November 1941. She was a daughter of actor Eyvind Johan-Svendsen (1896–1946) and actress Else Skouboe (1898–1950). He died on 27 June 1981 and is buried in

Bispebjerg Cemetery Bispebjerg Cemetery (Danish: Bispebjerg Kirkegård), established in 1903 on the moderately graded north slope of Bispebjerg Hill, is the newest of five municipal cemeteries in Copenhagen, Denmark. The main entrance to the cemetery is located next ...

Awards

* 1951 golf mrfsl, Milan Triennial, Italy * 1953 golf mrfsl, Milan Triennial, Italy * 1953

Lunning Prize The Lunning Prize was instituted by Frederik Lunning, owner of the New York agency for Georg Jensen. The prize was awarded to eminent Scandinavian designers, two each year, from 1951 to 1970. The recipients were selected by a group of peers fro ...

, Copenhagen, Denmark * 1957 golf mrfsl, Milan Triennial, Italy * 1963 International Design Award, USA * 1963 Der goldene Löffel, Munich * Diamonds-International Award 1966 * 1966 ID-prisen * 1967 gold medal, Florence, Italy * 1970 Silver Medal, Exempla 70, Munich, Germany

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koppel, Henning Danish designers Danish dinnerware designers Danish sculptors Danish male artists Designers from Copenhagen 1918 births 1981 deaths Male sculptors Danish expatriates in Sweden