Arne Jacobsen

(Danish, 1902–1971)

Arne Jacobsen was a Danish architect and designer, best remembered for his seminal contributions to the Functionalism movement of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. His architectural seating furniture and industrial designs are highly crafted around their contextual purpose, featuring contoured and organic lines that embody Jacobsen's unique aesthetic sensibility. “Proportions are what makes the old Greek temples classic in their beauty,” he once explained when asked to explain his influences. “They are like huge blocks, from which the air has been literally hewn out between the columns.” Born on February 11, 1902 in Copenhagen, Denmark, he went on to study at the Architecture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1924 to 1927. While there, he exhibited chair designs at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, where he received a Silver Medal. Throughout his long and prolific career, Jacobsen has been instrumental in both Scandinavian and Modern design, with his pieces being featured in popular cultural spheres and receiving distinctions such as the International Design Award from the American Institute of Interior Designers in 1968. He died on March 24, 1971 in Copenhagen, Denmark at the age of 69.