Poul Kjærholm classics

Daring Danish design

Whereas the majority of Danish cabinetmakers excelled in wood, Poul Kjærholm focused on steel and leather as his preferred materials and, with his minimalist styling, he is a distinguished Danish representative of international modernism.

Included at the international auction at Bredgade are a number of Poul Kjærholm’s most exquisite furniture classics, this time including such rare items as ten “PK-12” armchairs with polished, chrome-plated steel frames and black patinated leather seats. The armchairs were designed in 1964 and are in particularly good condition. Because only a few of these were produced, the ten armchairs are a real rarity in the auction market.

This can also be said of the supple “Holscher” chairs that border on the unique, because the chair was only made for Poul Kjærholm’s personal friends and family members. The approx. 20 “Holscher” chairs in the world are wound with flag line, some by Poul Kjærholm himself and his wife Hanne, while the frame of black-painted steel tubing was forged by master plumber Svend Holscher, whose son Knud Holscher, subsequently professor of architecture, was Poul Kjærholm’s best friend, the two having studied together.

We are also offering a pair of “PK-0” easy chairs with shell-shaped, laminated seats and painted black wooden backs, styled in 1952. The chairs up for sale were produced by Fritz Hansen in 1997 as part of a numbered series of 600 specimens to mark the 125th anniversary of Fritz Hansen. 

In addition to the above pieces, we are also offering for sale Poul Kjærholm’s patinated “PK-9” dining chairs, his “PK-54” circular dining table, the “PK-80” Daybed with its clean-cut styling, the weightless “PK-20” chairs, the classic “PK-22” easy chairs and a number of occasional tables.

Cabinetmaker and professor

Poul Kjærholm (1929-1980) was married to professor of architecture Hanne Kjærholm. He trained as a cabinetmaker in Hjørring from 1944–48. He graduated from Kunsthåndværkerskolen (College of Arts and Crafts, now Danmarks Designskole) in 1952, and subsequently taught in the schools of furniture at both Kunsthåndværkerskolen and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1952–59), after which he took up the position of senior lecturer at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, 1959–73. He concluded his long career with a professorship at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1976–80. Up until 1980, Kjærholm’s furniture was mostly produced by Ejvind Kold Christensen, and subsequently mostly by PP Møbler and Fritz Hansen.

View all Poul Kjærholm furniture in the auction here

Preview: Thursday 24 February – Monday 28 February 2011.
Auction: Wednesday 9 March 2011.

Read more about the international auction here