“Chieftain Chair” from Finn Juhl's adopted son
Thoughtfully designed, exceptional craftsmanship, exquisite details, and high-quality materials. Finn Juhl’s “Chieftain Chair” stands as one of Scandinavia’s most beautiful and iconic furniture classics. We are now presenting an original example that was owned by the architect’s adopted son.
"It is so obvious that furniture should be functional (...). For me, it is also obvious that it should possess an artistic quality that makes it engaging and in harmony with its surroundings."
Finn Juhl, interview in 1981
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At the upcoming Live Auction on Thursday, 20 November at 4 pm, a wide selection of modern design and decorative art will be up for Live Auction. Finn Juhl’s “Chieftain Chair”, made of teak and patinated natural leather, is among the highlights. Cabinetmaker Niels Vodder was Juhl’s regular collaborator, and the offered chair is among the earliest examples crafted by his hand. It was a jubilee gift from Juhl to his first wife Inge-Marie Skaarup’s father. From there, it was passed down to Juhl and Skaarup’s adopted son, Claus Juhl, who later gifted the chair to his daughter. |
"Finn Juhl designed an armchair, lounge chair, or whatever one might call it, that is so lively it seems to vibrate with vitality. It is expensive, delicate, but a Derby winner always is."
Review of Finn Juhl’s “Chief’s Chair” in Politiken, 1949
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The Danish Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition in 1949
The sculptural “Chieftain Chair” was created by Juhl for the Danish Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition in 1949. Its display was complemented by African weapons, decorative arts, and a butterfly in a case, hung alongside panels describing Juhl’s sources of inspiration. The chair’s virtuoso forms garnered attention at the exhibition, and it was described in reviews – both admiring and bewildered – as “peculiar”. An anecdote recounts that King Frederik IX visited the booth and sat in the chair. Subsequently, a journalist asked Juhl if it should be called the “King’s Chair,” to which the architect replied, “Call it a chieftain chair instead.”
"Knowledge and taste are acquired through experience. When there is no development, stagnation prevails, which is equivalent to regression, because everything else in life is in motion."
Finn Juhl on contemporary furniture art
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Critique and the organic modernism
Juhl’s furniture distinguished itself from contemporary trends in several ways. He criticized the prevailing Klint School for “lacking imagination” and being stuck in outdated principles of rational simplicity. In 1949, he delivered a lecture titled “Past, Present, and Future” to the Danish Association of Decorative Arts, offering a sharp critique and describing the era’s furniture design as stagnating in “pure formalism”. Instead, Juhl looked toward modern art ant its organic forms and vibrant colour palette. Consequently, his furniture appears more sculptural and more free in form compared to many of his colleagues from the same period.
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About Finn JuhlOriginally trained as an architect, Juhl ultimately focused on furniture and interior design. Together with cabinetmaker Niels Vodder, he pioneered groundbreaking techniques, creating some of the most significant pieces in design history. Through his distinctive design language, he helped elevate Denmark as a leading nation in design around 1950. His most renowned furniture pieces include the “Chieftain Chair”, “Poet”, “Pelican”, and “FJ45.” His architectural masterpiece is the interior of the Trustees’ Council Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 1950. Today, Juhl’s private home in Ordrup, built in 1942, is open to the public, offering a cohesive interior with modern artworks and his own furniture, including the “Chieftain Chair” as the living room’s centerpiece. |
Do you need more information? Please contact our design specialists:
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Andreas KrabbeAndreas KrabbeSpecialist / Modern Decorative Art & Design / København |