Ole Wanscher (16 September 1903 – 27 December 1985) 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 a ...

furniture designer This is a list of notable people whose primary occupation is furniture design. A * Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) * Eero Aarnio (born 1932) * Robert Adam (1728-1792) * Thomas Affleck (1745-1795) * Franco Albini (1905-1977) * Davis Allen (1916-199 ...

. He was one of the leading figures in the Scandinavian Design movement (a part of Mid-Century Modernism), at a time when Scandinavian Design achieved worldwide popularity.

Early life and education

Wanscher was born on 16 September 1903 in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

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 art historian Vilhelm Wanscher (1875-1961) and painter Laura K. Baagøe Zeuthen (1877-1974). He studied at the Danish School of Art and Design, and was particularly influenced by Prof. Kaare Klint.

Design career

After completing his studies, Wanscher worked with Klint from 1924 to 1927, at which time he set up his own office, specializing in furniture design. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Wanscher, working with master joiner

A. J. Iversen Andreas Jeppe Iversen, usually known as A.J. Iversen (13 December 1888 - 17 December 1979), was a Danish cabinetmaker and furniture designer. From the 1920s, his collaboration with architects and designers paved the way for the style which later be ...

, produced dozens of designs that are now seen as modern classics. In the 1950s, Wanscher left his private firm and began an association with P. Jeppesens Møbelfabrik A/S that would last for the rest of his professional life. Like his mentor Kaare Klint, Wanscher was influenced by a variety of sources, from 18th century British design through the furniture design of Ancient Egypt. One of Wanscher's most famous pieces was his so-called "Egyptian Stool" of 1960. He was also influenced by Greek and Chinese design. While many of Wanscher best known designs were built with master joiner A.J. Iversen, Wanscher also showed a particular interest in the mass production of furniture, and several of his pieces were designed with mass production in mind. One of Wanscher's best known designs is the

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

easy chair designed for France & Son in 1951.

Academia

Upon the death of Kaare Klint in 1955, Wanscher replaced Klint as professor at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dan ...

, a post he held until his retirement in 1973. Taking a cue from his father, an art historian, Wanscher published several histories of furniture design during his time at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, including ''The History of the Art of Furniture'' and ''Five Thousand Years of Furniture''.

Reputation

Wanscher's work has remained popular with furniture collectors. It has been called "delicate", "elegant", and "orderly". In 2003, Vance Trimble, a furniture dealer and collector, staged a retrospective of Wanscher's work in New York City, which was well received.

Personal life

Wanscher married twice. His first wife was Hilda Dorothea Pestalozzi (2 March 1906 - 9 July1992(, a daughter of consul Wilhelm Pestalozzi (1861) and Ellen Nicoline Karberg (1871-1944). They married on 22 September 1932 but they were divorced in 1954. His second wife was architect Edith Weinreich (27 March 1918 - 15 January 1990), a daughter of director and later alderman of the Wood Carvers' Guild Gustav Weinreich (1886-1980) and Hertha Jørgensen (1885-1956). They were married on 29 March 1967 at Søllerød Town Hall. He designed his own house at Gotfred Rodes Vej 5 in

Charlottenlund Charlottenlund is a suburban area on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the administrative seat of Gentofte Municipality. Bordered to the east by the Øresund, to the South by Hellerup and to the north by Klampenborg, it is one of the ...

in 1933. It was altered in 1943 and again in 1965.

References

External links

Roberta Smith, "ART IN REVIEW; Ole Wanscher -- 'Danish Modern Master Furniture'", ''The New York Times'', Oct. 3, 2003

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanscher, Ole Danish furniture designers 1903 births 1985 deaths Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Danish modern Designers from Copenhagen People from Frederiksberg