Teak Sofa 'Senator' by Ole Wanscher for France & Son

The Danish furniture designer Ole Wanscher (1903-1985) studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen under Kaare Klint and worked in his office from 1924 to 1927. In 1927 he opened his own studio and had his designs made mainly by the master cabinetmaker A. J. Iversen. For Poul Jeppesens Møbelfabrik he designed the Colonial Chair PJ-149 in mahogany with woven cane in 1949, and for France & Søn the Senator Easy Chair with characteristic X-shaped legs in 1951. Stylistically, his furniture was based on 18th-century British designs as well as Egyptian, Greek and Chinese models. From 1955 to 1973 he held Kaare Klint's professorship at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. As a furniture historian he also wrote standard works such as "The Art of Furniture".