This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
Design Classic – Tribute to American Shaker and English Windsor
Sofa
- Designer: Børge Mogensen
- Material: trim woven fabric and mahogany and beechwood
Sofa, Borge Mogensen, 1945
This sofa’s straightforward execution and regular silhouette reflect characteristics considered essential for advanced design at the time. Nonetheless, the turned spindles, stretchers, and exquisite details owe a lot to Borge Mogensen’s use of the lexicon of traditional furniture forms—especially American Shaker and English Windsor—in his work. This couch was first shown in a mahogany prototype at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild furniture exhibition in 1945. Still, it wasn’t until the early 1960s that it was reprinted in beechwood with this trim, woven fabric, which Mogensen created with Lis Ahlmann, that it became a commercial success.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Hiesinger, K. B., & Bill, M. (1983). Design since 1945: published in conjunction with the exhibition “Design Since 1945”, Philadelphia Museum of Art, October 16, 1983 to January 8, 1984.
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