Ole Wanscher was a Danish architect, furniture designer, and writer. Wanscher was the son of an art historian who studied under Kaare Klint.
Education
In 1944, they studied Bygningsteknisk Skole; subsequently, architecture Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen.
Biography
He set up his own office in 1928. He designed furniture showing high standards of woodworking and cabinetmaking and worked for several furniture firms in Copenhagen.
He was one of the founders of the Cabinetmakers’ Guild in Copenhagen. Between 1953-73, he taught architecture at Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi. A.J. Iversen and P. Jeppesen Møbelfabrik produced his furniture designs. His books included Furniture Types (1932), Outline History of Furniture (1941), English Furniture c1680-1800 (1944), and History of the Art of Furniture (1946-56).
He received a gold medal at the 1960 (XI) Triennale di Milano and the 1966 Georg Jensen Solvsmedie design’ competition (silver flatware). Work included in 1937 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne’; 1942 ‘Dansk Kunsthandvrerk,’ Nationalmuseet, Stockholm; 1964-67 ·SA ‘Design in Scandinavia’ travelling exhibition; 1956-59 Germany travelling Neue Form aus Dänemark’ travelling exhibition; 1958 ‘Formes Scandinaves’ exhibition, Paris Musee des Arts Decoratifs; travelling USA ‘The Arts of Denmark’ travelling exhibition; and 1964-65 ‘Formes Danoises, France.
Style/Philosophy
Wanscher’s designs were infused with the historic classicism about which he studied. These designs reflected the eighteenth-century classical Chinese, Egyptian and English furniture. His work also paid homage to the Shaker style. He used traditional materials such as mahogany and rosewood, with unmatched attention to the detail of the joinery. While more conventional than his contemporaries, his designs reflected the combination of historical influences and the beautiful clean lines associated with Danish modern furniture.
A selection of his work
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Hollingsworth, Andrew. Danish Modern, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1604/9781586858117.
Shop Now
Books on Danish Design
You may also be interested in
More on Danish Designers
-
Dansk International Designs: A Scandinavian Design Legacy
Dansk quickly gained a reputation for well-designed dinnerware that embodied the sophisticated postwar Scandinavian aesthetic of combining artisan traditions with industrial production. Read More →
-
Danish Design Legacy: Lars Mathiesen’s Artistic Journey
Experience Lars Mathiesen’s enchanting Café Table, a harmonious fusion of modern design and classic aesthetics. Explore the captivating allure of this collaborative creation with Fritz Hansen.Read More →
-
The Tapestry of Ruth Malinowski: A Beacon of Danish Art
Renowned Danish artist Ruth Malinowski, born in 1928 in Vienna, Austria, has a compelling story that transcends boundaries. Her artistry, profoundly manifested in her tapestry work, marries traditional weaving techniques with contemporary designs, leaving an indelible impact on the art world. Read More →
-
Gundorph Albertus: Danish Silversmith and Designer Extraordinaire
Gundorph Albertus, the renowned Danish silversmith and designer, left an indelible mark on the world of silver craftsmanship. Working for Georg Jensen A/S, he is best known for his iconic creations, the Cactus and Mitra flatware patterns. This blog post explores Albertus’s early life, education, and illustrious career, highlighting his notable achievements and contributions. From…
-
Hans J. Wegner Danish Furniture Designer
Organic Functionality, a modernist school emphasising Functionality, is a term used to define his style. With contributions by Poul Henningsen, Alvar Aalto, and Arne Jacobsen, this school of thought originated predominantly in Scandinavian countries.Read More →
-
Flemming Eskildsen (b.1930) Danish designer and Silversmith
In 1958 Eskildsen joined the Georg Jensen design department making designs for flatware, jewellery and hollowware. He became the foreman of the design department in 1962.Read More →
-
Grethe Meyer (1918 – 2008) Danish architect, & designer of furniture & glassware
She worked on the editorial staff of The Building Manual from 1944 to 1955. She was a crucial figure in Borge Mogensen’s research on the standardisation of consumer product sizes, and she collaborated with him frequently. They created the Boligens Byggeskabe (BB) and resund cabinet-storage systems in 1957.Read More →
-
Johan Rohde (1856 – 1935) Danish Architect & Designer
He was born in Randers, where he graduated from grammar school in 1875 and studied medicine before turning to art and painting. In 1882, he enrolled in the Academy after studying privately with Wenzel Torne.Read More →
-
Leif Erik Rasmussen (b.1942) Danish furniture designer
Leif Erik Rasmussen is a Danish architect and furniture designer. He studied furniture design at Kunsthåndværkersklen, Copenhagen to 1968.Read More →
-
Fritz Hansen Danish furniture manufacturing company
Fritz Hansen, a cabinetmaker who started producing and supplying furniture parts before going into bentwood furniture production, founded this major Danish furniture manufacturing company in Copenhagen. In the 1930s, the company began to produce tubular steel designs by Dutch designer Mart Stam and others, in addition to wooden furniture. Read More →
-
Danish Pepper: Jens Quistgaard’s Teak Pepper Mills
At the height of the Danish Modern movement, Jens Quistgaard and Dansk spiced up the design world with a stunning series of sculptural wood salt and pepper mills. Danish Pepper features photos and illustrations of Dansk and other Danish mills, accompanied by a rich history of the mills and their creators.Read More →
-
101 Danish Design Icons (hardcover)
A definitive history of 20th-century Danish design through 101 classic objects. Denmark has long loomed large in international design history. Today, Danish furniture, textiles, home appliances and utensils from the 1960s and ‘70s are more popular than ever, for sale at design galleries and a rarity at flea markets. Read More →
-
Børge Mogensen (1914 – 1972) Danish furniture designer
Børge Mogensen (1914 – 1972) was a Danish furniture designer. 1936-38, studied Kunsthåndværkerskolen, Copenhagen, and 1938-42, furniture, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen, under Kaare Klint. Read More →
-
Arne Petersen (1922 – 2002) Danish Metalworker
At the Copenhagen firm C.C. Herman, Petersen learnt silver and goldsmithing methods. He joined the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie in 1948 and worked in the hollow-ware department until 1976. His 1975 Bottle Opener, made of stainless steel soldered with brass, received a lot of attention. Read More →
-
Peter Hvidt (1919-1986) Danish architect and Cabinet maker
Peter Hvidt (1919-1986) was a Danish architect and Cabinet maker.Read More →
-
Dan Svarth ( b.1942) – Danish furniture designer
Dan Svarth is a Danish designer. He studied at the Kunsthåndvrærkerskolen, Copenhagen, to 1967, furniture design, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, to 1969. Read More →
-
By Lassen – Danish architecture and furniture design
The Lassen brothers’ archive of architecture and furniture design represents the finest qualities of the Danish design tradition and deserves a wider audience.Read More →
-
Edvard Kindt Larsen (1901 – 1982) Danish architect designer
Danish architect and furniture designer Edvard Kindt-Larsen (1901–1982) collaborated frequently with his wife Tove Kindt-Larsen (1906–1994). The couple worked in the fields of architecture, furniture design, silverware design, and textiles from the 1930s to the 1960s, ranking among Denmark’s leading designers.Read More →
-
Carl Cristian Fjeringstad (1891 – 1968)
Carl Christian Fjerdingstad was a Norwegian designer born in Kristiansand and active in Blaricum (Norway), the Netherlands, and Paris. Carl Christian Fjerdingstad worked as a designer for Orfèvrerie Christofle in Paris and a silversmith for Henry van de Velde. His work combined French designs with the hammered surfaces and round shapes of Danish silverware.Read More…
-
Danish Modern – traditional materials, organic shapes
Danish Modern From the 1950s onwards, this term, along with its Scandinavian and Swedish counterparts, was widely used to describe those aspects of Danish design that acknowledged some of the characteristics of Modernism but were distinguished by the use of more traditional materials, natural finishes, organic shapes, sculptural form, and a respect for craftsmanship.Read More…
Danish Pepper: Jens Quistgaard’s Teak Pepper Mills – Encyclopedia of Design
By Mark Perlson Jens Quistgaard and Dansk spiced up the design world with a breathtaking collection of sculptural wood salt and pepper mills at the Danish Modern movement’s height. Danish Pepper contains photographs and drawings of Dansk and other Danish mills and details about the mills and their makers.
1956 Dodge Texan (Royal Lancer series) by Robert Strovers – Encyclopedia of Design
In praise of the chrome logos and lettering affixed to vintage automobiles and electric appliances – those unsung metal emblems and badges that are overlooked, forgotten, damaged, lost to time or the dump. Is this kind of thing up your alley?
Good design.