Jens Risom Furniture
Danish, American, 1916-2016
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.
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Creator: Jens Risom
Dealer: Metro Retro Furniture MCM Furniture
One Vintage Jens Risom for Knoll Lounge Chairs
By Jens Risom, Knoll
Located in Pasadena, TX
One mid-century modern armless lounge chair designed by Jens Risom for Knoll originally in 1946. This early design has a hard maple frame with new linen upholstery.
Category
1950s Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Fabric, Maple
Mid-Century Jen Risom Walnut Coffee Table
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
40? Mid-century Jen Rison walnut coffee table.
Jens Risom coffee table in walnut laminate. Round top with square sculptural base. Original Jens Risom D...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Pair of Vintage Midcentury Restored Jens Risom Lounge Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Jens Risom`s career has spanned nearly sixty years. He began his study of design in the Copenhagen workshop of Kaare Klint in 1935 and joined Ernst Kuhn`s architectural office in 1938, where he designed furniture and interiors. In 1939, Risom emigrated to the U.S. and in 1941 designed the first chair manufactured by Knoll. Risom described the chair as "very basic, very simple, inexpensive, easy to make." The chair was constructed with a birch wood frame and, because of wartime materials constraints, cheap but strong army surplus...
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Cowhide, Walnut
Pair of Vintage Jens Risom Walnut Swivel Lounge Armchairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A pair of walnut swivel lounge chairs in original purple composite upholstery with walnut bases and detachable suede cushions designed by Jens Risom.
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Suede, Upholstery, Walnut
Pair of Jens Risom Walnut Lounge Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Jens Risom
Jens Risom emigrated from Europe to the U.S. when he was just 23 years of age. Like other Scandinavian designers such as Josef Frank and Kaare Klint, Risom continued to h...
Category
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Leather, Walnut
Two Restored Jens Risom Side Armchairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Pair of vintage side armchairs set.
New upholstery in gray microfiber
Tufted back detail
Wood frame and legs.
Category
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Oak
Vintage Midcentury Danish Jens Risom Teak Glass Bar Cart
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Jens Risom emigrated from Europe to the U.S. when he was just 23 years of age. Like other Scandinavian designers such as Josef Frank and Kaare Klint, Risom continued to honour tradit...
Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Teak
Four Restored Jens Risom Dining Side Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Four Vintage Side Arm Chairs Set
New upholstery in gray microfiber
Wood frame and legs
Category
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Oak
Jens Risom Credenza with Y-Shaped Drawer Pulls
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A rare and unique vintage Jens Risom credenza, this particular piece has y-shaped metal pulls, six regular drawers, one partitioned drawer, a filing drawer and a shelved cabinet. An ...
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Related Items
Jens Risom Midcentury Coffee Table
By Jens Risom
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage modern square table with floating top. Simple, handsome design by Jens Risom, featuring a detached looking top.
(Please confirm item lo...
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Midcentury Jens Risom Design Walnut Floating Top Coffee Table Bench
By Jens Risom
Located in BROOKLYN, NY
Midcentury Jens Risom design 6’ long walnut floating coffee table bench. Beautiful design and shape. Has floating top design coffee table top. Labeled Jens Risom Design. Great refini...
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1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
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Walnut
Pair of Contemporary Modern Swivel Lounge Chairs
By Mitchell Gold
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This stunning pair of contemporary modern lounge chairs feature a barrel backrest and a pedestal style swivel base. The unique design offers comfort and sturdiness without sacrificin...
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20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Metal
Pair of Jens Risom Style Slipper Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Two vintage-modern walnut slipper chairs with upholstered seat and back, designed in the manner of Jens Risom. This stylish and comfortable set of chairs with tapered legs and thick ...
Category
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Upholstery, Walnut
Pair of Jens Risom Scoop Chairs for Hans Knoll
By Jens Risom
Located in San Francisco, CA
Pair of Jens Risom scoop chairs for Hans Knoll
A pair of very early Knoll post war design scoop chairs by Jens Risom. Each has been completely restored in a luxurious Sandra Jordan ...
Category
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Alpaca
Jens Risom Pair of 'Vostra' Lounge Chairs with Ottoman in Canvas Webbing
By Jens Risom, Walter Knoll
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Jens Risom for Walter Knoll, pair of 'Vostra' chairs with ottoman, beech, canvas, brass, United States, design 1941, production 1950s
An elegant lounge chair with ottoman featuring ...
Category
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Brass
H 29.93 in W 20.08 in D 27.56 in
Jens Risom Armchair for Knoll Associates
By Knoll, Jens Risom
Located in Kalamazoo, MI
This is a beautiful upholstered armchair designed by Jens Risom for HG Knoll & Associates in the 1940s. It is one of the early, iconic chairs that ushered in a period of incredible mid-century modern design. The solid Birch frame cradles a foam cushioned seat that was recently reupholstered in Knoll Maharam fabrics. The fabric is timeless and high-quality, and it suits the lighter birch wood color perfectly. This is more than just a collectible MCM chair...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Birch
Pair of Swivel Bamboo Lounge Chairs
By Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Located in New York, NY
Pair of unusual bamboo swivel chairs. Original darkened finish, original upholstery, shows light wear, normal and consistent with age.
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Upholstery, Bamboo
Mid-Century Vintage Jens Risom Knoll Webbed Armchair
By Knoll, Jens Risom
Located in Baltimore, MD
A stunning iconic cotton strap, webbed, lounge, armchair, 652W design (1943) early edition, designed by Jens Risom for Knoll International. Features a solid maple frame with original woven cotton straps. It is one of the most comfortable pieces you will sit in, the exquisite curved back provides lumbar support making this chair as comfortable as it is beautiful. The removable webbed, basket seat, shell is supported and rests on the arm frame base. Very Rare Vintage Modern Classic design. An iconic piece of furniture, this example has remained in a single collection since it was acquired by the prior owner from Knoll International and the original early label remains affixed beneath. (Knoll Associates Inc. 601 Madison Ave New York 22). This label has the earliest Knoll Associates showroom address, which opened in 1946.
Measurements: 24.5 ” tall x 24? wide x 30? deep x seat height 18? (arm height 21") (seat to the lowest point 11")
Jens Risom
Danish-American architect-designer Jens Risom was born in Copenhagen in 1916, the son of a nationally renowned architect of the Nordic Classicism style. Between 1935 and 1938, he trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Ole Wanscher and Kaare Klint, alongside classmates Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen. For a short time following his studies, he took on furniture and interior designer projects for the Copenhagen-based architectural firm Ernst Kuhn. He then moved briefly to Stockholm, where he worked for Nordiska Kompaniet and met Alvar Aalto and Bruno Mathsson. Around 1939, he immigrated to New York with ambitions to introduce the Scandinavian modernist approach to the US furniture market.
Risom’s arrival in the US coincided with the years of materials shortages brought on by the war. As a result, Risom was unable to secure a position in a furniture company, and, instead, found work designing textiles for decorator Dan Cooper. Eager to do more, he soon convinced Cooper to expand into the furniture market, and together they found projects with young, progressive architects like Ed Stone and George Nelson. In 1939-40, Ed Stone was invited to create Collier Magazine’s House of Ideas pavilion at Rockefeller Center as part of the New York World’s Fair, and Risom designed all of the furniture.
Around 1941, Risom met Hans Knoll, a German-born entrepreneur in the furniture industry who had a showroom on Madison Avenue dedicated to rather lackluster furnishings. Sharing a dream to do something more vanguard, they joined forces and set off on a four-month tour of the US in search of design inspiration. By 1942, Knoll launched Hans Knoll Furniture Company with Risom on board as his head designer.
Risom’s early designs for Knoll made use of military surplus...
Category
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Fabric, Maple
Solid Walnut and Leather Lounge Chairs by Gunlocke, Jens Risom Style
By Gunlocke, Jens Risom
Located in Buffalo, NY
Matched Pair Classic Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs in solid walnut and leather manufactcured by W.H.Gunlock Company. designed in the manner of Jens Risom. Beautiful color..superio...
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Leather, Walnut
Rare Early Walnut Bench or Coffee Table by Risom
By Jens Risom
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Very nice solid walnut bench or coffee table by Risom.
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Strap Lounge Chair 1950s, Jens Risom Style
By Knoll, Jens Risom
Located in Den Haag, NL
Lovely high back lounge chair. Very nice design. Black beech wood frame, comes with off white
fabric straps light in weight, comes with the normal wear and tear after over 60 years ...
Category
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Fabric
Previously Available Items
Jens Risom Lounge Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Pair Jens Risom lounge chairs
Knoll Studios
The Risom lounge chair was designed in 1943 and was one of the first pieces commissioned by Knoll.
it brought the natural materials...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Cotton
Pair of Jens Risom Walnut Lounge Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Jens Risom emigrated from Europe to the U.S. when he was just 23 years of age. Like other Scandinavian designers such as Josef Frank and Kaare Klint, Risom continued to honor traditi...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Vintage Mid-Century Modern Walnut Jens Risom Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A vintage midcentury single-pedestal walnut desk made by Jens Risom fully restored. This desk features two drawers with a pencil drawer and a pull-out surface. This Classic piece of ...
Category
1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Vintage Mid-Century Modern Walnut Jens Risom Credenza
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
5ft vintage Mid-Century Modern walnut Jens Risom credenza
Jens Risom emigrated from Europe to the U.S. when he was just 23 years of age. Like other Scandinavian designers such a...
Category
1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Pair of Vintage Jens Risom Walnut Lounge Slipper Chairs
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Jens Risom emigrated from Europe to the U.S. when he was just 23 years of age. Like other Scandinavian designers such as Josef Frank and Kaare Klint, Risom continued to honor traditi...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Vintage Midcentury Restored Jens Risom U-620 Bench
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Jens Risom
Jens Risom emigrated from Europe to the U.S. when he was just 23 years of age. Like other Scandinavian designers such as Josef Frank and Kaare Klint, Risom continued to...
Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Leather, Walnut
Pair of Rare Jens Risom Stools in Leather
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
Pair of rare, iconic Jens Risom stools.
Teak with newly upholstered leather seats and backs
Brass foot rests.
27" Seat Height
When shopping for stools:
Stools with a seat height of ...
Category
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Teak
Vintage Mid-Century Modern Walnut Jens Risom Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A vintage Mid-Century single-pedestal walnut desk made by Jens Risom fully restored. This desk features two drawers with a pencil drawer and a pull-out surface. This Classic piece of...
Category
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Vintage Jens Risom Executive Teak Desk with Return
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A teak Executive Jens Risom Desk with a return. There are four drawers to this desk, two of them pencil drawers with separated laminate compartments in addition to two extending pull...
Category
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Jens Risom Single Drawer Black Leather and Rosewood Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A little over six and a half feet long, this Mid Century Modern desk by Jens Risom has a dark leather top, a rosewood base and aluminum glides at the end of its four elegantly rounde...
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Aluminum
Jens Risom Mid Century Writing Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A striking mid century writing desk by Jens Risom. Desk is of wood and chrome construction with a black laminate top. The desk features ...
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Chrome
Jens Risom L Shaped Walnut Vintage Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Pasadena, TX
A walnut mid century modern L-shaped desk designed by Jens Risom and made by Jens Risom Design. A classic desk with return is constructed of walnut. The desk features a pencil drawe...
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Jens Risom furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Jens Risom furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Jens Risom furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 323 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 5 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Jens Risom were created in the mid-century modern style in north america during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Fredericia, Florence Knoll, and Craft Associates. Prices for Jens Risom furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $350 and can go as high as $35,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,213.
Creators Similar to Jens Risom
Questions About Jens Risom Furniture
- Who is Jens Risom?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Jens Risom was a Danish designer. Many people credit him with bringing the modern style of Scandinavian design to the U.S. He is well-known for his chairs, which feature angled seat backs often upholstered with webbing. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Jens Risom furniture.
- Was Jens Risom Danish?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Yes, Jens Risom was Danish. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 8, 1916, and attended Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design. Following his graduation, Risom moved to the U.S., where he lived for the rest of his life. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Jens Risom furniture.
- Who sells Jens Risom rockers?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Normally, vintage furniture dealers or auction and online platforms specializing in authentic vintage furniture sell Jens Risom rockers. From time to time, rocking chairs produced by the Danish designer may appear at thrift shops and secondhand stores or be available directly from individuals who own them. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Jens Risom chairs.