Famous Furniture HANS J. WEGNER’S

Finger joints connect backrest to arms. “THE CHAIR” By David Heim

ans J. Wegner rose Wegner debuted the piece backrest and arms. But that’s from humble begin- at the 1949 Cabinetmaker’s like saying a bottle of Beau- Hnings in a small town Guild Exhibition in Copenha- jolais is just old grape juice. in to worldwide gen, but it drew little attention. The turned legs taper subtly renown as one of the most That changed when America and gracefully at each end important Danish Modern greeted the chair. In 1950, it and splay outward toward designers. In a career span- made the cover of Interiors the floor, while the chair’s ning nearly a half-century, magazine, which crowned near-vertical backrest flows he designed tables, break- it “The world’s most beauti- organically into the horizon- Mortise-and-tenon fronts—and some 500 chairs. ful chair.” The accompanying tal arms. This component joinery connects rails to legs. Born in 1914, the son of article noted that Wegner, is by far the most complex a cobbler, Wegner began a “devotes himself to perfecting part of the chair. Sometimes three-year apprenticeship the shape and scale of the parts. likened to the propeller on with a local cabinetmaker The top rail, a complicated col- an old airplane, it consists of when he turned fourteen. lection of twisted curves and three pieces connected with He made his first chair joints, was wrestled into quiet large finger joints. Blanks at age fifteen. A few years obedience. The sturdy legs are for the backrest and arms after that, he attended the tapered just enough to seem are roughed out of fresh- Legs taper at both ends. School of Arts and Crafts, in muscular rather than overfed, cut slabs 5" thick, which are Copenhagen. There, he was and the seat dips slightly to left to season for one to two able to rub shoulders with look willing but not seductive.” years. A CNC machine then many established design- Two years later, the chair cuts the finger joints and

1 ers—including , was featured in the Good performs the initial shaping. 25" W, 20 ⁄2" D, 30" H. regarded as the father of Design exhibition at New A great deal of handwork fol- Seat height: 18" modern . York’s Museum of Modern lows to refine the shape with Wegner began design- Art and soon found its way rasps and spokeshaves before and walnut. Finishes include ing chairs for commercial into the museum’s permanent sanding the assembly smooth. oil, lacquer, and a treatment production during World collection. It became one of Wegner enjoyed a long- with soap flakes. War II. Some of them are the most desirable pieces of standing relationship with Wegner, who died in well known and still in pro- furniture in the country and PP Møbler, the Danish cabi- February 2007, once said of duction, including an early helped drive an increase in the netmaking firm that manu- The Chair and its Danish design based on a chair export of Danish furniture to factures many of his chairs. roots: “The objective was to from the Ming Dynasty, and the U.S. While Americans There are two versions of make things as simply and a Windsor called the Pea- dubbed Wegner’s piece “The The Chair, one with a cane correctly as possible, to show cock Chair, which features Chair,” he preferred to call it seat (PP501 in the Møbler what we could create with our an outsized back. But his the “Round Chair.” catalog) and one with a thin hands and try to make the most successful design by The Chair is at once both upholstered seat (PP503). wood come alive, give it soul far is known as the PP 503, simple and complex. It con- Wegner made the original and vitality, and to get things the Round Chair, or simply sists of four legs, four rails, chair in oak. Today, Møbler to appear so natural that they “The Chair.” and a piece combining the makes it in oak, ash, cherry, could only be made by us.”

60 Photos: Except as noted, courtesy of PP Møbler (www.pp.dk). Postage stamp from coinect.com. Round tenon joins leg to upper rail.

Leather seat available in 4 colors plus “natural” (shown here).

Deconstruction. The disassembled Creator and creation. Hans parts reveal joinery masterfully Wegner with his most famous designed for strength and piece, mimicking how the visually simple elegance. backrest and arms are joined.

Resolved: Chair a Hit at First Debate

fastFACTS • Sustainably grown 200-year-old trees provide the wood for The Chair’s back and armrests. • Wegner’s career took off in the early 1940s, when he helped design all the furniture for a new city hall in Aarhus, Denmark—while the Nazis occupied the town. • The Chair was featured on a postage stamp in 1991, a rare honor. These days, our presidential debates often feature elaborate patriotic scenery, with lecterns apparently borrowed from the Starship Enterprise. However, the first nationally televised presidential debate, on September 26, 1960, was a much different affair. Broadcast from a Chicago studio, the set featured a plain backdrop, a small desk for the moderator, simple lecterns perched atop thin poles, and PP503 chairs for John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. Kennedy, who requested the chairs to help alleviate his chronic back pain, seemed much more at ease. Nixon hunched forward stiffly in his seat, looking like a wayward teenager awaiting punishment from the principal. The 70 million people watching saw a tanned, confident Kennedy and a pale, sweaty Nixon, prompting Kennedy’s fortunes to rise and Nixon’s to sink. On election day, more than half of those polled said the debate had influenced their vote. The human touch. Chair parts initially carved The debate also brought new notoriety to The Chair. If Kennedy was the by machine get a final shaping by hand. star who won the debate, that piece of furniture was clearly his costar. n

Chair parts image courtesy of Danish Design Review (danishdesignreview.com). April/May 2020 | woodcraftmagazine.com 61 SUBSCRIBE! 2 YEARS for $29.99!

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