Hans J. Wegner GE 290 High Back Chair
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Hans J. Wegner GE 290 High Back Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Hans J. Wegner (Designer),GETAMA (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 37.5 in (95.25 cm)Width: 29.75 in (75.57 cm)Depth: 37.5 in (95.25 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1953
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU848717140232
Hans J. Wegner
Best known for his chairs and seating pieces — though a master of many furniture types like sofas and tables — Hans Wegner was a prolific designer whose elegant, often ebullient, forms and devotion to the finest methods in joinery made "Danish Modern" a popular byword for stylish, well-made furniture in the mid-20th century.
Wegner considered himself a carpenter first and a furniture designer second. Like his peers Arne Jacobsen and Finn Juhl, Wegner believed that striking aesthetics in furniture were based on a foundation of practicality: a chair must be comfortable and sturdy before it is chic.
In keeping with that tenet, several of Wegner’s best chair designs, seen in dealer listings below, have their roots in traditional seating forms. The Peacock chair (designed in 1947) is a throne-like adaptation of the Windsor chair; pieces from the China chair series (begun in 1944) as well as the 1949 Wishbone chair, with its distinctive Y-shaped back splat, are derived from 17th-century Ming seating pieces, as is the upholstered Ox chair (1960). Wegner’s comfy Papa Bear chair (1951) is an almost surreally re-scaled English wingback chair.
Wegner’s most representative piece, the Round chair (1949), gained a footnote in political history when it was used on the TV stage of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate of 1960. That chair, along with Wegner’s more bravura designs, for example the 1963 Shell chair, with its curved surfboard-shaped seat, bring a quietly sculptural presence to a room. Wegner was a designer who revered his primary material — wood — and it shows. His wood gathers patina and character with age; every Hans Wegner piece testifies to the life it has led.
GETAMA
The story of how GETAMA got its name is perhaps as unique as the range of subdued but sophisticated Scandinavian modern furniture for which the manufacturer is known (thanks to a partnership with Hans Wegner).
In the late 1890s in the Danish town of Gedsted, a young cabinetmaker by the name of Carl Pedersen opted to use seaweed — rather than the traditional heather or straw — as mattress stuffing. Pedersen named his new factory Gedsted Tang-og Madrasfabrik (the “Gedsted Seaweed and Mattress Factory”), which he abbreviated to GETAMA. Seaweed’s fire-retardant properties make it an excellent and safe upholstery material for mattresses, chairs and sofas. Pedersen leveraged this quality as a selling point — the abundance of seaweed on the shores of Denmark and its weightlessness added to its appeal as an economical but durable upholstery filling for all kinds of furnishings. The crowning quality was its softness.
GETAMA’s seaweed mattresses proved so popular for their comfort and durability that Pedersen had to expand into a larger factory within the first year. He felt almost obligated to launch a line of bedroom furniture to accompany his much-loved mattresses.
The working relationship established in 1959 between Hans Wegner and GETAMA afforded the company the opportunity to break into the international market. Wegner — a legendary Danish carpenter and furniture designer revered by mid-century modern collectors everywhere — became one of the brand’s principal designers and often spent a great deal of time at the factory — refining and adjusting each new piece until he felt satisfied that it was ready for production. For decades, Wegner’s impressive contributions to GETAMA’s daybeds, lounge chairs, sofas and dining room tables became the backbone of the company’s sales.
Over the years, other designers entered into working agreements with GETAMA, including Nissen & Gehl, OM Design, 2R Design, Blum and Balle, and Jørgen Gammelgaard. Copenhagen native Nanna Ditzel, a Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alum who trained under Kaare Klint, designed GETAMA’s Mondial coffee table. Alongside her husband, Jørgen Ditzel, she also created the sensuously curvy and wildly popular Ring chair.
Today, the sleek modern furniture that GETAMA manufactures is still inclusive of their lauded mattresses.
On 1stDibs, find vintage GETAMA seating, tables, storage cabinets and other furniture.
- Hans J. Wegner GE 290A High Back Lounge Chair, 1950By GETAMA, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Los Angeles, CAWonderful high back lounge chair GE290A by Hans J Wegner for GETAMA, solid oak frame with nice patina and original cushions in light maroon wool fabric, marked.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
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- Hans Wegner High Back Lounge Chair, Model GE-375, 1960By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Los Angeles, CALarge scale high back chair by Hans Wegner with solid oak frame and cushions in beige wool (seemingly reupholstered at a later date), produced by GETAMA in 1969, model GE 375, detach...Category
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- Hans J. Wegner Sofa Model GE-236/3, 1950By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Los Angeles, CAwonderful 1950s Danish three-seat sofa, model GE236/3 designed by Hans J. Wegner for GETAMA, solid oak frame with nice patina and original spring loaded cushions with grey/brown wool...Category
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- Set of Six Hans Wegner GE-525 Dining Chairs, 1960By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Los Angeles, CAWonderful set of six dining room chairs, model GE525, designed by Hans J. Wegner and manufactured by GETAMA in the 1960s, in smoked oak and light colored, speck...Category
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$750 / item - Set of 10 Hans Wegner Armchairs, 1970By GETAMA, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Los Angeles, CAWonderful set of ten arm chairs 'Koldinghus' by Hans Wegner for Getama, 1970, in oak with straps of hemp, stackable, very comfortable.Category
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- Hans Wegner for GETAMA High Back Oak Lounge Chair and Ottoman Model GE290By GETAMA, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Philadelphia, PAHans Wegner for Getama High Back Oak Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Beautiful Wood in Original Condition. Upholstery is newly done in a Knoll Fabric. All original wire coil springs rewrap...Category
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$3,057 Sale Price20% Off - Vintage Danish Dark Oak Lounge Chair GE290 by Hans J. Wegner, 1970sBy GETAMA, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish Dark Oak Lounge Chair GE 290 by Hans J. Wegner, 1970s Mid-century Modern Scandinavian armchair model GE-290 by Hans Wegner for Getama in...Category
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- Hans Wegner Model GE-290 Easy ChairsBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautiful early pair of GE-290 'Easy Chairs' by the prominent Danish designer Hans J. Wegner for Getama. These chairs have a beautiful patina commensurate with their age on both the ...Category
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$8,500 / set - Pair of 'Plank' Chairs Model GE290 by Hans Wegner for GetamaBy Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Little Burstead, EssexThese are in excellent original condition, the cushions retain their spring upholstery and recovered in Abraham Moon wool fabric in Fern Green, overall a great pair of classic mid-ce...Category
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