Interior 52 Chair

In 1952 Finn Juhl was commissioned by the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum (NKM) in Trondheim, Norway to design a furniture installation. The installation was a room which was to represent the new modern aesthetic. Remarkably, the installation is still open to the public today, and is well worth a visit. The impressive selection of furniture and art of this installation are very well preserved. One very important aspect of the Interior 52, is that we know exactly when the furniture dates from. Apart from the installation itself, the Museum was kind enough to grant us access to their archives which produced a valuable array of letter correspondence between, Finn Juhl, Niels Vodder and Baker Furniture. These records give us some important clues into the cooperations at the time.

In these letters we learn that Baker Furniture generously donated the Chieftain chair to the exhibit – however they paid Niels Vodder to make the chair for them. The desk and the FJ48 desk chair were both shipped from the Baker factory to Norway.

Photo: Interior 52 inlcuded designs by Finn Juhl, Peder Moos, Axel Salto, Marta Maas-Fjetterstrom, and Erik Thommesen

Photo: Before the Interior 52 exhibit began, the entire interior was shown at the Guild Exhibit in 1952 in Copenhagen. Finn Juhl originally intended the desk and the FJ48 to be Baker productions, but the Guild only allowed cabinetmaker furniture in the Guild Exhibit. So, Niels Vodder had to build a desk and 48 chair. Unlike the Baker desk, we can see the Niels Vodder desk has brass shoes. The factory made Baker furniture for the Interior 52 exhibit was sent directly from the USA to Trondheim.

Photo: The Interior 52 has been reupholstered. It has the early boxier looking backrest like all pre-1956 chairs.

Photo: The Interior 52 chair has 5 metal tabs on the underside of the seat. A hallmark of the earliest chairs.

Photo: Niels Vodder stamp on the Ibulia (Brazilian Walnut) frame. The seat tabs are made of steel.

Photo: The distance between the stile and the back of the seat is shorter than later chairs. The 1949 Guild chair had a longer distance, so it appears that Finn Juhl and Niels Vodder were modifying the design in search of perfection.

Photo: A letter from Baker Furniture’s Vice President, Frank Van Steenberg describing the furniture they are donating to the Interior 52 exhibition at the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum (NKM), in Trondheim, Norway. Photo courtesy of the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum

Photo: Letter from Finn Juhl to the director of Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum outlining the items being used in the Interior 52 exhibition. He clear says that Baker is sending a desk and desk chair, and the rest will come from Niels Vodder. Photo courtesy of Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum

There are also two letters written by Niels Vodder in which he describes making and shipping the chair to the museum after the chair was presented to the 1952 Guild Exhibit. The second letter addresses how the Chieftain Chair was damaged in shipping, and Vodder discusses how the museum should handle repairing the chair in time for the opening of the exhibit. He also describes that the chair is made of Imbulia wood (Brazilian Walnut), which is similar to Brazilian rosewood.

Photo: Inventory cataloguing from the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum of the Interior 52 Chieftain chair. Letter clearly states that the chair was gifted to the museum from Baker Furniture. Also discusses that the chair is made of imbuia wood. Photo courtesy of Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum