Set of six early Jens Risom chairs. France 1950.
About the Item
- Creator:Jens Risom (Designer),Florence Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Similar to:Jean Prouvé (Designer)Marcel Gascoin (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 24.02 in (61 cm)Width: 15.36 in (39 cm)Depth: 18.51 in (47 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Unknown
- Condition:
- Seller Location:SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7052237390582
Jens Risom
The Danish-born Jens Risom brought the Scandinavian modern design sensibility to a wide audience in the United States. As the first designer for Knoll Inc., Risom introduced American buyers to the region’s enduring design values of simplicity, grace and craftsmanship.
Risom trained in furniture making at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design under Ole Wanscher, alongside classmates Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen. In 1939, a year after graduating from business school, Risom decided to move to the U.S.
While working for an interior designer in New York in 1941, he met Hans Knoll, and the businessman and the designer hit it off. They brought out their first line the next year, despite wartime materials restrictions. The signature piece — now a design icon — was a lounge chair with a striking, undulant birch frame and a seat made of webbed sub-military grade parachute straps. Risom was drafted into the army, and served as a translator under General George Patton. When he returned from the war, Risom clashed over furniture design ideals with his business partner’s new bride, Florence Knoll, the pioneering mid-century modernist who was schooled in the Bauhaus method, which favored furniture with strict, geometric metal frames. Risom then started his own company, Jens Risom Design.
In the course of his long career, Risom developed a stylistic vocabulary that was a reflection of the life of the man himself: his furniture has Danish warmth coupled with an American air of crisp efficiency. Vintage Risom chairs are almost instantly recognizable — the arms and seat backs are set at a distinctive angle that seems to invite people to sit back and relax, yet they know they can hop up in an instant, ready to go.
As you will see on these pages, Jens Risom is one of the great men of American modern design who made furniture that is unique and timeless.
Find a collection of vintage Jens Risom furniture on 1stDibs that includes lounge chairs, desks, coffee tables and more.
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Set of modular shelves France 1950s.By Jean Prouvé, Marcel Gascoin, Roger Landault, Rene Gabriel, Jacques HauvilleLocated in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FRVintage set of shelves from the 1950s. Featuring four shelves in golden oak and three solid oak et steel supports. Well-preserved condition. steel original green paint.Category
Vintage 1950s French Shelves
MaterialsSteel
- Roger Tallon "Wimpy" chairs, set of 2 - Sentou.By Roger Tallon, Jean Prouvé, Robert SentouLocated in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FRA distinctive pair of Roger Tallon-designed "Wimpy" removable chairs created for Sentou France in the 1960s. Sentou editor's stamp, old edition. Dimensions: 29 3/4" H × 18 1/4" W ...Category
Vintage 1970s French Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Set of two modular shelves - Emile Seigneur - France - 1950By Emile Seigneur, Marcel Gascoin, Rene GabrielLocated in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FRA set of two modular shelves designed by Emile Seigneur, a designer of the French reconstruction era. The two shelves are independent but are shown here stacked on top of each othe...Category
Vintage 1950s French Shelves
MaterialsOak
- Set of 2 stools designed by Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet - France -1950By Marcel Gascoin, Adrien Audoux and Frida MinnetLocated in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FRMid-century French low Shepard's stools designed by Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet. This rustic French poufs showcase a circular seat crafted from woven raffia/rattan, supported by tr...Category
Vintage 1950s French Stools
MaterialsRaffia, Wood
- A set of four design chairs by Gijs Boelaars for Lundia - 1970sLocated in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FRA set of four architectural design chairs by Gijs Boelaars for Lundia, 1970s Nice as a side- or dining chair and easy to adjust the seating height. Fit...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Chairs
MaterialsWood
- A drop-front secretary desk - 1950 - France.By Marcel Gascoin, Charlotte Perriand, Rene GabrielLocated in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FRA secretary desk from the 1950s, French craftsmanship. Solid elm wood with a beautiful patina. Height with the drop-down leaf open: 75 cm. Dimensions of the drop-down leaf: 45 cm ...Category
Vintage 1950s French Secretaires
MaterialsElm
- Jens Risom Midcentury Modern Arm Chairs - Set of 8 - Model C170 - Black WalnutBy Florence Knoll, Jens Risom, KnollLocated in Decatur, GASet of eight (8) vintage mid century modern arm chairs by Jens Risom, circa late 1950s. Model C-170 in solid American black walnut with sculpted flared armrests. Stout and sturdy Ame...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Early Chair Attributed to Jens Risom for KnollBy Knoll, Jens RisomLocated in South Charleston, WVA very early chair that is attributed to Jens Risom for Knoll. The chair features a vinyl type finish that is in good condition with a few marks and light staining. The legs have ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
- Vintage Classic Armless Chairs by Jens Risom, 1950'sBy Jens RisomLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA pair of classic slipper or armless chairs by Jens Risom-original, vintage 1950's production. Walnut frames have a beautiful patina, newly reupholstered in Brunschwig & Fils linen, ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair Jens Risom Playboy chairsBy Jens RisomLocated in New York, NYA pair Jens Risom walnut armchairs model C140 Playboy chairs. Iconic Mad Men era chairs. All original in very good condition. This is a great set of ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- Set of Three Jens Risom for Knoll Webbed Wood Side ChairsBy Knoll, Jens RisomLocated in Miami, FLSet of three blueberry nylon webbed chairs with maple frames designed by Jens Risom for Knoll.Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsNylon, Wood
- Pair of Jens Risom ArmchairsBy Jens RisomLocated in New York, NYPair of Jens Risom armchairs with black lacquered wood frames.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.