Early Swan Chair in Black Leather, Arne Jacobsen

In 1958, during the golden age of air travel, Scandinavian Airline Systems tapped Arne Jacobsen (1902–71), then a notable architect both in his native Denmark and beyond, to design its SAS Royal Hotel. The 22-story building would become Copenhagen’s first skyscraper, and its interiors constitute a monument to modern design and mid-century air travel. The project became a crowning achievement for Jacobsen, who, in conceiving its architecture, interiors and furnishings — which included the elegant Swan chair — had the opportunity to produce a widely visited Gesamtkunstwerk, or “total work of art.”

As a meeting place in one of SAS’s hub cities, the hotel was, by nature, a bustling place. Jacobsen factored that into the design, creating several spaces for activities ranging from business tête-à-têtes to preflight cocktails. The Swan chair was set on a swivel base, an important attribute that offered guests the ability to become mobile participants in the hotel’s buzzy lobby, lounges and elsewhere. 

When it debuted, the Swan — as well as the equally celebrated Egg chair, also created for the SAS Royal Hotel — represented a daring departure from the traditional notion of a chair. With nary a back slat or a linear armrest in sight, the curvaceous shape exemplified Jacobsen’s innovative approach. The seat, as well as its accompanying sofa, was produced by Danish manufacturer Fritz Hansen, with which Jacobsen enjoyed a long partnership. Fritz Hansen continues to produce the Swan chair today.

Despite its popularity and Jacobsen’s close relationship with American designers Charles and Ray Eames, who are considered pioneers of easily replicable furniture, the Swan is not ideal for autonomous mass production: The seat of each chair is hand-sewn by an upholsterer to carefully adhere to its shapely curves before being attached to the base, which is made of polished aluminum.

Decades later, the Swan chair continues to be a fixture in modern interiors, with its seat offered in over 30 upholstery options. In 2018, on the hotel’s 60th anniversary, Danish design firm Space Copenhagen undertook an expansive redesign of the SAS Royal Hotel, now known as the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel. Jacobsen’s Swan chair, Egg chair and Drop chair feature prominently throughout the hotel’s lobby and guest rooms, paired with more contemporary furnishings and bespoke interior detailing for a new jet-set era.

The eye-catching work of the Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen often introduces new collectors to mid-20th century furniture. With their fluid lines and sculptural presence, Jacobsen’s signature pieces — the elegant Swan chair and the cozy-yet-cutting edge Egg chair, both first presented in 1958 — are iconic representations of both the striking aesthetic of the designers of the era and their concomitant attention to practicality and comfort. Jacobsen designed furniture that had both gravitas and groove.

Though Jacobsen is a paragon of Danish modernism, his approach to design was the least “Danish” of those who are counted as his peers. The designs of Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Børge Mogensen and others grew out of their studies as cabinetmakers. They prized skilled craftsmanship and their primary material was carved, turned and joined wood. Jacobsen was first and foremost an architect, and while he shared his colleagues’ devotion to quality of construction, he was far more open to other materials such as metal and fiberglass.

Many of Jacobsen’s best-known pieces had their origin in architectural commissions. His molded-plywood, three-legged Ant chair (1952) was first designed for the cafeteria of a pharmaceutical company headquarters. The tall-backed Oxford chair was made for the use of dons at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, whose Jacobsen-designed campus opened in 1962 (while still under construction). The Swan, Egg and Drop chairs and the AJ desk lamp were all created as part of Jacobsen’s plan for the SAS Royal Copenhagen Hotel, which opened in 1960. (The hotel has since been redecorated, but one guest room has been preserved with all-Jacobsen accoutrements.)

To Jacobsen’s mind, the chief merit of any design was practicality. He designed the first stainless-steel cutlery set made by the Danish silver company Georg Jensen; Jacobsen’s best-selling chair — the plywood Series 7 — was created to provide lightweight, stackable seating for modern eat-in kitchens. But as you will see from the objects on 1stDibs, style never took a backseat to function in Arne Jacobsen’s work. His work merits a place in any modern design collection.

Find authentic Arne Jacobsen chairs, tables, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.