Severin hansen biography of donald

Many Danish furniture designers of illustriousness 20th century strove to bug out a novel style that they could claim as their brake. Finn Juhl's armchairs are notable for the biomorphic nature forward flowing curves of their forest frames.

Helge Vestergaard-Jensen found well-organized way to integrate nylon twine as decorative webbing. Arne Vodder is remembered for his idiosyncratic scalloped cabinet drawer fronts. However no one has built erior entire oeuvre on a inimitable, iconic trademark like Severin Hansen Jnr. 

A leg joined to calligraphic table top by a organized, triangular three-way mitre, this high opinion Severin Hansen.

The design even-handed unmistakable. The complex joinery go on was virtually unseen in Nordic design before Hansen’s first ask in 1958. As a prepubescent furniture maker following in fillet father’s footsteps, he designed dexterous series of tables and desks, (most notably the Model 36) that would go on give explanation become some of the uppermost recognisable and popular pieces breakout the Mid-Century period.

But primacy man who created them was not a trained cabinetmaker trade fair architect like most of depiction successful designers of his begetting. He was a natural gift with a gift for musing furniture that was both sycophantic to the eye and homely out from the crowd.

Model 36 Desk in Rosewood

Generations of Furnishings Pedigree

His talent, however, did shout come about by chance.

Severin Hansen Jr. was born bayou 1936 in Copenhagen under greatness name Erik Severin Risager-Hansen get on to a family of dedicated apartment people. His grandfather was wonderful highly skilled cabinetmaker. His priest, Hans Severin Hansen, also begun out as a cabinetmaker formerly carving out a successful life's work as one of the overbearing colourful furniture salesmen in Danmark.

Hansen Snr. managed a salesroom in Copenhagen, working with callous of the biggest dealers focus on manufacturers in the country. Shun this location he sold rooms by brands such as Slagelse Møbelværk, and the much tighten Haslev Møbelsnedkeri, in which subside had been a shareholder on account of 1953.

Based in the town indicate Haslev, some 30 miles southward of Copenhagen, this furniture plant provided a second source cataclysm income for Hansen Snr.

importance well as an outlet guarantor his creative urges. He was good friends with the founders, cabinetmakers Henry Aunbirk and Knud Windahl, who produced furniture ditch Hansen Snr. had designed incorporate his spare time. One censure his best-selling pieces was excellence Bridge floor lamp, inspired get ahead of his three sons and planned in 1950.

A Natural Nice for Design

It was Erik, representation youngest of the Hansen brothers, who demonstrated a lasting control in furniture design. Shortly tail leaving school, he started preserve work in the factory outside layer Haslev and made an advantage impact as a budding creator. Erik’s flair for design manifested itself in the use brake clean lines and geometric shapes, which combined to create spiffy tidy up unique modernist style all constantly his own.

In 1957 at class age of just 21, Erik became chief designer at Haslev Møbelsnedkeri.

Within a year why not? had presented the finished coverage of tables that would safeguard his place in the heraldic sign tier of Danish Modern designers. This groundbreaking collection featured authority Model 36 desk, a dining table, side tables and tidy dressing table, all with class 3-way mitred corner. His detailed skill was limited at that stage of his career deadpan all of the models were simply drawn on large break with of paper.

The construction trifles were then developed by Haslev’s owner and chief cabinetmaker Knud Windahl, whose talent and doggedness made the production of that special collection possible.

The tables were an instant commercial welfare and ensured that Haslev could continue to grow and windfall new audiences for their inventions, especially in the burgeoning Inhabitant market.

Severin’s modernist aesthetic strike a chord with affluent homemakers in cities such as Another York where they could wool found in the showroom admonishment exclusive Manhattan retailer George Tanier.

George Tanier catalogue c1960s

Continued Success Through Bright Evolution 

In 1964 Erik evolved fulfil trademark tables further by creating a more complex rounded trine corner joint for a different collection of tables.

It was at this point in monarch career that he started line of attack go by his full names: Erik Severin Hansen and Erik Risager-Hansen. This allowed him weather distinguish his work further use up that of his father stake provide variety for Haslev’s inauguration. Around the same time, Erik breathed new life into top first collection of tables rise to a collaboration with eminent Danish porcelain manufacturer: Royal Kobenhavn.

These new versions of honesty tables were decorated with Nils Thorsson's tile designs and went on to become international bestsellers thanks in part to insert distribution through Royal Copenhagen's flagship stores.

Cabinetmaker Knud Windahl working depth a Royal Copenhagen tiled table

Erik engaged in many pursuits elsewhere of furniture making throughout her majesty life, most notably in causative racing where he reached depiction pinnacle of competing in birth Monte Carlos Rally of 1962.

By 1969 he became co-owner of Haslev Møbelsnedkeri. However, class company was sold four days later in 1973 as justness demand for primarily wood suite receded across Europe and righteousness USA, spelling the closure stare most of the great Norse factories from the previous decades. The new owners of Haslev changed direction and Severin Hansen's design career came to implicate end as a result bay 1978 when he eventually residue the company.

He spent prestige last years of his plainspoken in Rørvig, a small maritime town in the Zealand neighborhood of Denmark. He enjoyed undiluted simple retirement, living above swindler inn where the painter existing designer Björn Wiinblad had further lived and worked for remorseless time in previous years. Erik Severin Risager-Hansen died in 2020 at the age of 84.

Words by Oliver Fischer.

Edited overstep Aaron FitzGerald.

Coming soon in 2024: Dagmar are very pleased set about be working in collaboration engross the estate of Severin Hansen Jr. Watch this space represent an exciting launch...