FINN JUHL (1912-1989)

Finn Juhl originally designed this chair model in walnut, produced in approximately 60 examples, for the Trusteeship Council Chamber of the United Nations building, New York, 1950-51. Examples of the same chair design, executed by Juhl's cabinet-maker Niels Vodder and produced from maple and Italian walnut, were exhibited at the 1951 Danish Cabinet-Maker's Exhibition, Copenhagen. The international appeal of the design to the American market was confirmed by Juhl’s decision to appoint Baker Furniture Ltd., of Grand Rapids, Michigan, production rights to the suite, alongside other designs, including the Chieftain and NV-45 chairs. An apparently identical suite is published in a photograph recording the exhibition showroom that Juhl designed for Baker in 1952.