Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian Colonial Armchair in Walnut by Ole Wanscher

In creating his seminal work, the Colonial chair, in 1949, Danish designer Ole Wanscher (1903–85) found the ideal balance between minimalism and traditionalism through a simple silhouette, slim wooden framework and plush leather cushions. While Wanscher may not be a household name today in the way that his Danish contemporaries Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner are, he played a prominent role in mid-century Scandinavian design and is greatly respected by furniture historians.

Raised by an art historian father, Wanscher developed an appreciation for the arts at an early age, eventually going on to study architecture and furniture design under modernist master Kaare Klint at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. After graduating, he worked for Klint’s practice before starting his own firm. Then, after Klint’s death in 1954, Wanscher took over Klint’s academic role until his own retirement from the academy in 1973. His professional accolades include the Copenhagen Carpenters’ Guild Annual Award and the gold medal at the 1960 Milan Triennale.

An avid historian himself, Wanscher also traveled the world to study designs from different cultures and was particularly interested in furniture from Egypt, Greece and China, as well as from the Shaker movement and the Vienna Secession. He’d later publish the results of his global studies in The Art of Furniture: 5,000 Years of Furniture and Interiors. This approach, rooted in history, which was largely inspired by Klint’s own philosophy, set Wanscher apart from the segment of Scandinavian modernists who eschewed the past for the present and the future.

For the Colonial chair, Wanscher drew inspiration from 18th-century English furniture, namely ladder-backed chairs by Thomas Chippendale. He crafted the slim frame of roundwood timber, using curved armrests and legs — a Wanscher signature element — and thoughtfully placed mortise-and-tenon joints to create stability. And although the finished product radiates a sense of careful craftsmanship, Wanscher designed the Colonial chair to be easily manufactured: Its wood frame, woven cane seat and leather cushions can each be produced separately and joined at a later stage.

The Colonial chair was originally manufactured by P. Jeppesens Møbelfabrik, for whom Wanscher also designed the Colonial sofa and the Colonial coffee table to complete the Colonial collection. Today the chair is manufactured by Carl Hansen & Søn and sold alongside a footrest. It remains a crowd-pleaser with its timeless, elegant yet simple form.

Family-owned since its inception, Carl Hansen & Søn has been one of the most prestigious furniture manufacturers in Denmark for more than a century. The firm has produced timeless masterpieces of Scandinavian modernism by iconic designers Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen and others.

In 1908, cabinetmaker Carl Hansen opened his first small workshop near Odense, Denmark, where he created furniture by hand in the preferred Victorian style of the times. Hansen expanded his operations by 1915 due to high demand. The larger factory allowed room for more modern machinery and a staff of many journeymen who produced a small series of their most popular pieces, including coffee tables, cabinets and sculptural, inviting armchairs. The firm became known for marrying the finest handmade craftsmanship with efficient production processes.

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw worldwide furniture sales plummet, and many furniture manufacturers were forced to shutter their workshops. At the age of 23, furniture maker Carl Hansen’s youngest son, Holger, took control of his father’s factory and piloted it through the era’s uncertain waters.

Holger Hansen’s youthful enthusiasm, innovative spirit, and intuitive business savvy kept their company afloat. He believed in the quality of the firm’s work and the cutting-edge designs that were produced at its factory, which emerged from modest beginnings to become a pivotal piece of the history of Danish furniture.

Owing to Holger’s leadership, Carl Hansen & Søn emerged from the Great Depression and entered into creative alliances with many acclaimed Danish masters of mid-century design, including Kaare Klint, Børge Mogensen, Arne Jacobsen, Ole Wanscher, Frits Henningsen and Poul Kjærholm.

None of these partnerships proved as prolific as their relationship with Hans Wegner, however. In 1949, the cabinetmaker moved to Denmark’s Funen Island and was staying in Holger’s family home, as the then-Carl Hansen CEO had commissioned Wegner to create a chair for the company that was similar to his popular China chair of 1944.

Wegner began to work closely with the company’s craftsmen and devised a streamlined chair with a Y-shaped back and woven paper-cord seat. The legendary Wishbone chair, which still involves nearly 100 processes and takes weeks to make, has been in continuous production since its 1950 debut.

Carl Hansen & Søn has manufactured some of the most extraordinary chairs, sofas and lounge chairs for living room relaxation in the history of design. Their dining room tables and chairs run the gamut in style and functionality, from everyday comfort to elegant entertaining. The company’s impressive roster of contemporary designers includes renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the Vienna-based design firm EOOS and celebrated American industrial designer Brad Ascalon. They remain the world’s largest producer of Wegner’s furniture and still enjoy a collaborative relationship with the Hans J. Wegner Studio.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Carl Hansen & Søn chairs, tables, case pieces and other furniture.