Carl Malmsten (1888 – 1972), Swedish Furniture Maker

Carl Malmsten was a Swedish furniture designer. Inspired by Italian Renaissance and Swedish 18th-century forms, his work is typical of the new trends of the 1920s. He furnished the Stockholm Stadhus (city hall, 1916–23), the Stockholm Konserthus (concert hall, 1924–5) and Ulriksdal Castle (early 1920s), eschewing Functionalism in favour of crafted furniture in light or blackened birch decorated with intarsia ornament.

Education

Carl Malmsten studied at the Pahlmanns Handelsinstitut and Hogskolan, Stockholm, in 1910. Between 1910 and 1912, he trained under the cabinetmaker Per Jönsson in Stockholm. Between 1912 and 1915, he furthered his studies in handicrafts and architecture under Carl Bersten in Stockholm. Malmsten said his teachers were two: Mother Nature and traditional Swedish furniture and interiors, which he saw in museums.

Competition winner

Malmsten’s career took off in 1916 when he won first and second prizes in a competition hosted by the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design to supply furniture for the ongoing city hall construction in Stockholm. The commission enabled him to open a workshop, and in the following years, he delivered many prized furniture suites to the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design exhibitions.

He also wrote about beauty and comfort in the home in Ellen Keys’ spirit and co-operated with textile artists. In particular, with Märta Måås-Fjetterström, whose carpets and fabrics in saturated earthy tones harmonised with Malmsteen’s interiors.

Style

Malmsten is most famous for his unique handcrafted pieces, influenced by the Swedish Gustavian and “rural rococo” style, with modern, simplified elegance and function. 

He pushed back against the extreme Functionalism of the rest of Europe, believing in the value of traditional craftsmanship in the spirit of Kaare Klint. Like Klint, Malmsten founded several schools as an influential educator and mentor. His furniture was well made, durable, and functional but exhibited a neoclassicism and less restrained expressiveness, which were more typical of the Swedes than the Danes.

Recognition

Malmsten, in his later writings, had been recognised for his extensive luxury furniture and educational efforts. He started Malmsten’s Verkstadsskola (Malmsten’s Workshop School) in 1930 to train furniture architects and qualified cabinet makers.  

He was awarded and recognised for the following;

• 1926 Litteris et Artibus Medal
• 1945 Prince Eugen Medal
• 1917 work shown at Blanchs Konstsalon exhibition in Stockholm
• 1923 and 1956 exhibitions in Gothenburg
• Swedish pavilion at the 1925 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes’
• 1939 ‘New York World Fair.’

His work has been the subject of a retrospective at the Stockholm Museum.

Sources

Brunnström, L. (2018). Swedish Design: A History. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing. https://amzn.to/3yL7Ozy

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

Hollingsworth, A. (2009). Danish Modern. (n.p.): Gibbs Smith, Publisher. https://amzn.to/4bt3tQa

Mang, K. (1979). History of modern furniture. Harry N. Abrams. https://amzn.to/3KgnM7l

Plath, I. (1966). The Decorative Arts of Sweden. New York.

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