Alongside Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner (1914-2007) was perhaps the most influential Danish furniture designer of the 20th century, coming closer to nearly any other to defining the look and feel of mid-century Danish modernism. As a young man he trained as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, but soon graduated into furniture design. He’s most noted for his work with wood, primarily in the design of chairs. His round chair (immortalized in the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960), China chair, swivel chair, deck chair, Y chair, flag halyard chair and wishbone chair stand out as classics amidst an oeuvre full of them. After his apprenticeship in cabinetmaking, he attended the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts then went to work in Arne Jacobsen’s architecture office. He founded his own office in 1943 and went on to design more than 500 different chairs.

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