Arguably Denmark's most famous designer. He worked as an assistant to Erik Møller and Arne Jacobsen until 1943 when he opened his own office.
His 1949 "Round" chair would provide the basis for many of his later chairs. Interiors magazine, in America, put the "Round" chair on the cover in 1950 and called it 'the world's most beautiful chair,' catapulting Wegner into international fame. It became known simply as, "the Chair" and began making high profile appearances like the televised 1961 presidential debates between Nixon and Kennedy.
While "the Chair" is the probably the chief icon of Wegner's career, and a form that he revisited often, he is responsible for a number of other designs. He exhibited at the Cabinetmaker's show every year from 1941-66. The designs from those decades,manufactured primarily by PP Møbler and Carl Hansen & Son, were made with the modern, sculptural idea that they could stand on their own,rather than as parts of a furniture set.
The "Peacock" chair from 1947,was inspired by the traditional "Windsor" chair, his 1949 Folding" chair was made to be hung on the wall, and his "Shell" chair from the same year experimented with curving the wood in three dimensions to form th eseat. The multi-purpose "Valet" chair, designed in 1953, had elementsfor hanging up or storing each piece of a man's suit.
World renowned for blending a variety of natural material in hisclassic designs, Hans Wegner has received many international accolades for his work. In June 1997 Wegner was awarded an Honary Doctorate by the The Royal College of Art in London.
Hans Wegner died on Jan 26 2007, he was 92.