Tove & Edvard Kindt-Larsen Secretaires

Together, Tove & Edvard Kindt-Larsen helped usher in the golden era of Scandinavian modern furniture design through their significant involvement with the Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibitions from the 1930s through the ’70s.

Married in 1937, Tove and Edvard Kindt-Larsen (1906–94; 1901–82) etched out names for themselves independently and as a pair. Tove was one of the first female designers to come to the fore during Denmark’s rise in furniture production. She studied under the legendary Kaare Klint at the Department of Furniture Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts years after she started working in the industry.

Edvard received great recognition for his large hotel project by the lakes in Copenhagen and his house in Klampenborg, which he designed in 1962. Edvard was awarded the Eckersberg Medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1949 for his work as an architect.

While both were skilled designers — the couple’s coffee tables, armchairs and other pieces for France & Søn, Seffle Möbelfabrik and more are widely collected today — Edvard and Tove’s greatest contribution is undoubtedly their involvement with the Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibitions. The shows they assembled were integral to putting Danish design on the map, with Edvard serving as head of the exhibitions from 1943 to ’66. During this period, mid-century Danish design truly took off in the United States — when Scandinavia’s simple, curvilinear wooden furniture, home goods and textiles suddenly seemed the perfect foil for glass-and-steel skyscrapers. 

Together, the pair organized events that ignited collaborations between big-name Danish designers such as Hans J. Wegner and Johannes Hansen, Finn Juhl and Niels Vodder, Ole Wanscher and A.J. Iversen, Jacob Kjær and Peder Moos, and more. 

The guild provided a platform for the designers to showcase their now-iconic works, including Wegner’s Round chair, the rustic and recognizable Hunting chair and Spanish chair — both created by Børge Mogensen — and Finn Juhl’s Chieftain chair, 46 chair and 46 sofa. 

Find antique Tove & Edvard Kindt-Larsen side tables, lounge chairs, case pieces and other furniture on 1stDibs.