Finn Juhl Walnut End Table for Baker, USA, 1954
View Similar Items
Finn Juhl Walnut End Table for Baker, USA, 1954
About the Item
- Creator:Finn Juhl (Designer),Baker Furniture Company (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1954
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. in excellent vintage condition with minor signs of age and use.
- Seller Location:Lambertville, NJ
- Reference Number:Seller: 1015/10101stDibs: LU1308215330552
Finn Juhl
Along with Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl was one of the great masters of mid-20th-century Danish design. Juhl was the first among that group to have his work promoted overseas, bringing the character of the nation’s furnishings — and the inherent principles of grace, craftsmanship and utility on which they were based — to an international audience. A stylistic maverick, Juhl embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues, yet even his quietest pieces incorporate supple, curving forms that are at once elegant and ergonomic.
As a young man, Juhl hoped to become an art historian, but his father steered him into a more practical course of study in architecture. He began designing furniture in the late 1930s, a discipline in which, despite his education, Juhl was self-taught, and quite proud of the fact. His earliest works, designed in the late 1930s, are perhaps his most idiosyncratic. The influence of contemporary art is clear in Juhl's 1939 Pelican chair: an almost Surrealist take on the classic wing chair. Critics reviled the piece, however; one said it looked like a "tired walrus." Juhl had tempered his creativity by 1945, when the Danish furniture-making firm Niels Vodder began to issue his designs. Yet his now-classic NV 45 armchair still demonstrates panache, with a seat that floats above the chair’s teak frame.
Juhl first exhibited his work in the United States in 1950, championed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., an influential design critic and scion of America’s most prominent family of modern architecture and design patrons. (Kaufmann’s father commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the house “Fallingwater.”) Juhl quickly won a following for such signature designs as the supremely comfortable Chieftan lounge chair, the biomorphic Baker sofa, and the Judas table, a piece ornamented with stylish inlaid silver plaquettes.
As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Finn Juhl’s furniture — as well as his lighting, ceramics, tableware and accessories — has an air of relaxed sophistication and elegance that is unique in the realm of mid-20th-century design.
Baker Furniture Company
Owing to the company’s collaborations with many leading designers and artists over time, vintage Baker furniture is consistently sought after today. The heritage brand’s chairs, dining tables, desks and other pieces are widely known to collectors and design enthusiasts for their fine craftsmanship and durability.
Within a few decades of its launch, Baker Furniture Company evolved into one of the largest and most important furniture manufacturers in the United States and became known for its high-quality production standards. Siebe Baker and business partner Henry Cook founded the original iteration of Baker Furniture Company in 1890 in Allegan, Michigan, after immigrating to the United States from the Netherlands. Allegan is a small town west of Grand Rapids, which, at that time was home to Widdicomb Furniture Co. and more and was known as America’s furniture capital. The company manufactured doors and interior moldings and introduced a combination desk and bookcase in 1893. In the early 1900s, Siebe became the sole owner of the business.
Among others, stage designer Joseph Urban and modernist designer Kem Weber contributed designs to Baker in the 1920s. In 1932, under the leadership of Siebe’s son, Hollis, who started at the company as a salesman but took the reins when his father passed in 1925, Baker Furniture introduced bedroom pieces and debuted its Manor House collection, which made reproductions of European furnishings available to the American market. (Hollis was an avid traveler and procured antiques overseas for the company to reproduce in the United States.) Soon, Baker Furniture Company moved to Holland, Michigan, and eventually opened showrooms in Grand Rapids and elsewhere.
Pioneering Scandinavian designer Finn Juhl created a Danish modern line for Baker in 1951, and the company produced his award-winning Chieftain chair for a short time. In the late 1950s, Baker introduced the Milling Road label to reach a younger audience with stylish but less costly furnishings like console tables, walnut dining chairs and more, and in 1961, British furniture designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings introduced a modern neoclassical line at Baker.
The 1960s and ’70s saw the introduction of historic reproduction furniture lines such as Woburn Abbey and the Historic Charleston collection, which remain very popular to this day. In 1990, Baker was licensed to produce a furniture line from Colonial Williamsburg. That same year, the Smithsonian Museum introduced Baker’s Chippendale chair into its permanent collection and the Grand Rapids Art Museum dedicated an exhibition to Baker’s 100th anniversary, a showcase that included 150 pieces of furniture Siebe Baker had collected as part of a larger assortment that had served as inspiration for his designs.
Today, vintage Baker furniture, such as its elegant mahogany nightstands and teak credenzas — particularly those crafted by Finn Juhl — sees high demand online and elsewhere. The company continues to produce contemporary collections with well-known designers such as Bill Sofield, Barbara Barry and Kara Mann and remains on par with some of the highest quality furniture in the industry.
Browse vintage Baker armchairs, sofas, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Mid 19th Century Flame Walnut Sewing Table CabinetLocated in Lambertville, NJAntique mid 19th Century flame walnut sewing or work table. The highly figurative wood top, that lifts up to reveal a sewing compartment lined in light ...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century English End Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Pair of Midcentury Campaign Style Side Chests by Baker, 1970sBy Milling RoadLocated in Lambertville, NJA Pair of chic dark walnut stained campaign style end tables or side chests by Baker Milling Road. The dark cabinets, with polished brass mounts and drawer pulls in a timeless campai...Category
Vintage 1970s American Campaign Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Early 20th Century Hand Carved French Style Walnut StandLocated in Lambertville, NJElegant hand carved walnut side table. The shapely top with drawer with brass pull supported by four curved cabriole legs with lower shelf. The wood finish in excellent condition wit...Category
Early 20th Century European French Provincial Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Circa 1900 Hand Carved Oak Griffin Glass Top Low Table, Cocktail TableLocated in Lambertville, NJCirca 1900 hand carved oak griffin glass top low table, cocktail table This unique size can be used as a cocktail table, side table or end table, Dimensi...Category
Early 20th Century European Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood, Oak
- Pair of Flame Mahogany Side Table CabinetsLocated in Lambertville, NJAn elegant pair of Regency style flame mahogany pedestal cabinets. The warm mahogany with cast brass lion head accents on the sides and front with a pull down door for storage and to...Category
Early 20th Century American Regency End Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Danish Modern Teak Side TableLocated in Lambertville, NJMid-Century Danish Modern Teak Side Table marked only D74. Very clean and a great size. 20" tall by 25 by 14 1/2".Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Finn Juhl TableBy Baker Furniture Company, Finn JuhlLocated in Highland, INThis beautiful table by Danish master Finn Juhl features solid walnut legs and raised lip that surrounds a delta-shaped top of sycamore. Designed during the peak of his creativity, t...Category
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSycamore, Walnut
$4,500 - Two Tier Black Lacquer & Walnut Square End Side Center Table Stand Juhl BakerBy Baker Furniture Company, Finn JuhlLocated in Rockaway, NJRefinished two tier black lacquer & walnut square end side center table stand Juhl Baker.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Finn Juhl for Baker Furniture side table with shelf mid century teak walnut USABy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Bridgehampton, NYRARE production piece from Baker Furniture. Wegner designed for the company in the 1950s in order to gain an international / American presence.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWood
- Expertly Restored - Finn Juhl Side / End Table for Baker FurnitureBy Baker Furniture Company, Finn JuhlLocated in Los Angeles, CAFinn Juhl side / end table for Baker Furniture. ________________________________________ Transforming a piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture is like bringing history back to life,...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood, Sycamore, Walnut
- Finn Juhl for Baker Oval Dining TableBy Baker Furniture Company, Finn JuhlLocated in Philadelphia, PAFinn Juhl for Baker Oval Dining Table with a Starburst Walnut Veneer to table surface. Beautiful, Elegant Design with 3 leaves, 14" each. Ope...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Finn Juhl Coffee Table by BakerBy Baker Furniture Company, Finn JuhlLocated in Highland, INA sublime shape, a wonderful large scale, and delightful details all mark this coffee table by Danish master Finn Juhl. One of the designs that Juhl created in 1951 for American manu...Category
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSycamore, Walnut