Danish Design-Ole Wanscher

Ole Wanscher (1903-1985) was a Danish architect and designer. His father was the famous art historian, Vilhelm Wanscher.

Ole Wanscher was a student of Kaare Klint from 1925-27 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Much later in Wanscher’s career he returned to the Royal Academy, however this time he returned in the role of professor. He carried on as a professor at the Academy until 1971. Like his father Ole Wanscher wrote several important books on furniture and furniture design from (1946-55). His most noteworthy book is, “Art of Furniture: 5000 Years of Furnoture and Interiors”. His books are available in Danish, English, German and Swedish.

Ole Wanscher opened up his own design studio in 1929. Much of the furniture he produced was made out of very expensive materials, such as rosewood and mahogany. Wanscher’s demand for high quality and expensive materials in his designs meant that his products were generally reserved for the upper class. However, Wanscher did put out some industrial designs which were intended to be mass produced and quite cheap. With these industrial designs he would compromise and use more inexpensive materials; such as beech and oak to make it possible for most people to afford them.

OW149 Colonial sofa

The OW149 Colonial Sofa was designed by Ole Wanscher in 1964. Manufactured in very small quantities, the design was virtually unknown until Carl Hansen & Søn launched the entire Colonial Series in 2015. This refined collection clearly reflects Wanscher’s interest in eighteenth-century English furniture as well as a certain nostalgia for the Colonial aesthetic.

The Colonial range includes a two-seater sofa, armchair, footstool and coffee table. The seating elements feature a solid wood frame with a black cotton webbing base that supports loose cushions made from a down-mix.

2.Egyptian Folding Stool

The OW2000 Egyptian Stool was designed by Ole Wanscher in 1957. The influence of his travel outside of Denmark is clear to see in this intriguing design. While in Egypt, Wanscher became fascinated with old seats of power, leading to the design of the elegant, lightweight Egyptian Stool with Temple of Thebes furniture in mind.

The design of the stool nods gracefully to his source of inspiration, yet is distinctly modern in its expression and construction. The seat, crafted from saddle leather, easily collapses into the chair when folded.

Many of Wanscher’s designs have become collectors pieces due to their timeless simplicity and beautiful finish. The OW2000 Egyptian Stool is no exception.

Wanscher’s classic and contemporary designs made him popular.  In 1958, the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote: “Owning a Wanscher chair is an adventure every day, and will

be so even several hundred years from now, for this is how long it lasts”. Today, his modern classics are still revered for their detail and his deep respect for materials.

While traveling through Egypt and Europe, Wanscher studied furniture design, finding inspiration in varied visual expressions that he incorporated into his own unique design aesthetic. He viewed furniture design as a branch of architecture and emphasized slim dimensions and resilient forms – a quest exemplified in many of his works, particularly the Colonial Chair and Colonial Sofa.

Wanscher created his best-known designs primarily between the late 1940s and early 1960s, in the post-war era when the “design for everyone” philosophy emerged. In Denmark, some of design’s biggest names created functional and affordable furniture for the Danish people and the small spaces they lived in. Wanscher took great interest in industrially produced yet high-quality furniture, designing several successful pieces.

Wanscher’s design earned him numerous accolades, including the Copenhagen Carpenters’ Guild Annual Award and the gold medal at the Milan Triennale in 1960 – honors that underscored Wanscher’s esteemed reputation both in Denmark and internationally.

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