MODERNIST "SAMSAS" SOFA

BIRCHWOOD

Signed in Swedish: "Furniture designed by Professor Carl Malmsten"

CARL MALMSTEN (1822 - 1972) was Sweden's most famous early 20th century furniture designer. In 1916 he won the first prize to furnish the Stockholm Town Hall and the same year he published "Om Svensk Karaktär inom Konstkulturen" (About the Swedish Character in the Culture of Art) and in 1924 he published "Skönhet och Trevnad i Hemmet" (Beauty and Comfort in the Home). Although inspired by the Natural Romanticism, he felt that the new design in architecture and furniture should be based on Neoclassical principles.

In 1920 he designed furniture for the Stockholm Concert Hall. In 1923 he was the main supplier to the main drawing room at Ulriksdal Royal Palace for the newly wed Crown Prince Gustaf (VI) Adolf and Crown Princess Louise (née Lady Louise Mountbatten, sister of Lord Louis Mountbatten). The room was a wedding gift and was to represent the best in Swedish contemporary design. The room has been preserved as a bequest of the late king and is considered the most outstanding example of early 20th century Swedish furniture design.

Malmsten founded a school for furniture design, which is now the best-known school of furniture in Scandinavia. His most popular design which he designed in 1960 was this "Samsa" sofa which was based on furniture he designed for the Stockholm Concert Hall in 1920. The Samsas sofa popularity meant it continued to be made long after Carl Malmsten's death in 1972.

Length: 24" (61 cm), Depth: 13 ¾" (35 cm), Height: 55" (140 cm)

Stock no. HG 7037