Best known for his chairs and other seating pieces — though a master of many furniture types like sofas and tables — Hans Wegner was a prolific designer whose elegant, often ebullient, forms and devotion to the finest methods in joinery made "Danish Modern" a popular byword for stylish, well-made furniture in the mid-20th century.
Wegner considered himself a carpenter first and a furniture designer second. Like his peers Arne Jacobsen and Finn Juhl, Wegner believed that striking aesthetics in furniture were based on a foundation of practicality: a chair must be comfortable and sturdy before it is chic.
In keeping with that tenet, several of Hans Wegner’s best chair designs have their roots in traditional seating forms. The Peacock chair (designed in 1947) is a throne-like adaptation of the Windsor chair; pieces from the China chair series (begun in 1944) as well as the 1949 Wishbone chair, with its distinctive Y-shaped back splat, are derived from 17th-century Ming seating pieces, as is the upholstered Ox chair (1960). Wegner’s comfy Papa Bear chair (1951) is an almost surreally re-scaled English wingback chair.
Wegner’s most representative piece, the Round chair (1949), gained a footnote in political history when it was used on the TV stage of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate of 1960. That chair, along with Wegner’s more bravura designs — for example, the 1963 Shell chair, with its curved surfboard-shaped seat — bring a quietly sculptural presence to a room.
Wegner was a designer who revered his primary material — wood — and it shows. His wood gathers patina and character with age; every Hans Wegner piece testifies to the life it has led.
Find vintage Hans Wegner lounge chairs, armchairs, daybeds and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Danish Hans J. Wegner City Hall Oak Dining Chair
By Hans J. Wegner, Plan Møbler
Located in Knebel, DK
Danish Hans J. Wegner "City Hall" dining chair The "City Hall chair" is one of Hans J. Wegners earliest designs made for the new iconic city hall in Aarhus that was finished in 194...
Oak
Customizable Kai Kristiansen Teak Dining Chairs in Excellent Condition
By Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai Kristiansen
Located in Knebel, DK
Fully Restored Customizable Kai Kristiansen Model 42 Teak Dining Chairs with swivel backrest in excellent condition with only few and minor signs of age and use. The chairs are amon...
Teak
Fully Restored Niels Otto Møller Model 78 Rosewood Dining Chair with Papercord
By Niels Otto Møller, J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik
Located in Knebel, DK
The frames of the chair have been carefully restored and refinished by our cabinetmaker to ensure that it's in excellent condition with only few and minimal signs of age and use and ...
Papercord, Rosewood
1960s Fully restored Danish Steffen Syrach-Larsen Rosewood Side Chair
By Steffen Syrach-Larsen, Gustav Bertelsen
Located in Knebel, DK
1960s Fully restored Danish Steffen Syrach-Larsen Rosewood Side Chair Very rare rosewood sidechair designed by Steffen Syrach-Larsen in 1960 and made by cabinetmaker Gustav Bertels...
Rosewood
1960s Kai Kristiansen Fully Restored Dining Chairs in Teak and Black Leather
By Kai Kristiansen, Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik
Located in Knebel, DK
Kai Kristiansens model 31 dining chairs with refinished frames and black leather upholstery. The A-frame model 31 chairs were designed by Kai Kristiansen in 1956. The model with its...
Leather, Teak
1960's Ejner Larsen and Axel Bender Madsen Oak Armchair / Desk Chair
By Ejner Larsen and Aksel Bender Madsen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Knebel, DK
Armchair / desk chair in oak designed by Ejner Larsen and Axel Bender Madsen in 1955 for Fritz Hansen. The comfortable, well designed and almost timeless chair have been checked by ...
Oak
Oak and Leather Dining Chairs by Hans J. Wegner, 1950s
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A superbly crafted dining chair largely devoid of extraneous detailing, having exposed oiled white oak frames with gently curved backs and tapered dowel-form legs and natural leather...
Leather, Oak
Oak and Leather Dining Chairs by Hans J. Wegner, 1950s
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A superbly crafted dining chair largely devoid of extraneous detailing, having exposed oiled white oak frames with gently curved backs and tapered dowel-form legs and natural leather...
Leather, Oak
W2 - Dining chair by Hans J. Wegner
By Hans J. Wegner, C.M. Madsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
W2 dining chair in oak with patinated wicker. Designed by Hans J. Wegner and made by cabinetmaker C.M. Madsen. The wicker differs from each chair - contact for individual pictures.
Wicker, Oak
1965 Pair of Hans Wegner Johannes Hansen JH 507 Oak Dining Chairs from Harvard
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a pair of JH 507 dining chair with arms, designed by Hans Wegner, produced by Johannes Hansen. This pair of chairs came from Harvard University and is accompanied ...
Oak, Leather
Niels Otto Møller Model 85 Chairs – Oak, Danish Mid-Century Dining Chairs, 1980s
By Niels Otto Møller
Located in Hannover, DE
Niels Otto Møller Model 85 Chairs in Oak, Denmark, 1980s — Up to 6 Available Original Niels Otto Møller dining chairs, Model 85, produced in Denmark in...
Oak
Oak Dining Chair by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn, Denmark, 1952
By Carl Hansen & Søn, Hans J. Wegner
Located in Nørre Aaby, DK
Elegant dining chair designed by Hans J. Wegner and produced by Carl Hansen & Søn, Denmark, in 1952. Crafted from oak and newly upholstered in black leather, the chair showcases ...
Leather, Oak
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
If anyone is brave, humble and adept enough to recolor these mid-century masterpieces, it’s Ilse Crawford. Here, she gives us the details on her five earthy paint choices and tells us how she feels about design collaborations.
