Finn Juhl Diplomat
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood, Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks
Wood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Wool
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Mahogany
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Side Tables
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks
Metal
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Leather
20th Century Chairs
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Wool, Teak
Vintage 1970s Danish Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Hardwood
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Bookcases
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Rosewood
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Palisander
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Vintage 1960s Danish Desks and Writing Tables
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s Danish Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Rosewood
20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Armchairs
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak, Wood
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks
Steel
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Sideboards
Aluminum
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Dining Room Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Mahogany
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Teak, Upholstery
Vintage 1960s Danish Armchairs
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Metal
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Teak
Vintage 1950s Danish Desks
Metal
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Credenzas
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
Vintage 1960s Danish Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Hardwood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Teak
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Conference Tables
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Armchairs
Teak, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Armchairs
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Teak
20th Century Danish Armchairs
Rosewood, Textile
Vintage 1950s Danish Armchairs
20th Century Danish Modern Chairs
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Aluminum
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Sideboards
Aluminum
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Tables
Rosewood, Palisander
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Teak
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Velvet
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Onyx, Brass
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass, Linen, Fabric, Wood
2010s British Scandinavian Modern Tables
Mohair, Oak
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
Vintage 1930s Czech Art Deco Lounge Chairs
Beech, Sheepskin
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Brass
Finn Juhl Diplomat For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Finn Juhl Diplomat?
Finn Juhl for sale on 1stDibs
Along with Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl was one of the great masters of mid-20th-century Danish design. Juhl was the first among that group to have his work promoted overseas, bringing the character of the nation’s furnishings — and the inherent principles of grace, craftsmanship and utility on which they were based — to an international audience.
A stylistic maverick, Juhl embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair, credenzas and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues, yet even his quietest pieces incorporate supple, curving forms that are at once elegant and ergonomic.
As a young man, Juhl hoped to become an art historian, but his father steered him into a more practical course of study in architecture. He began designing furniture in the late 1930s, a discipline in which, despite his education, Juhl was self-taught, and quite proud of the fact.
Juhl’s earliest works, designed in the late 1930s, are perhaps his most idiosyncratic. The influence of modern art is clear in his 1939 Pelican chair: an almost Surrealist take on the classic wing chair. Critics reviled the piece, however; one said it looked like a "tired walrus." Juhl had tempered his creativity by 1945, when the workshop of Danish cabinetmaker Niels Vodder began to issue his designs. Yet Juhl’s now-classic NV 45 armchair still demonstrates panache, with a seat that floats above the chair’s teak frame.
Juhl first exhibited his work in the United States in 1950, championed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., an influential design critic and scion of America’s most prominent family of modern architecture and design patrons. (Kaufmann’s father commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the house “Fallingwater.”)
Juhl quickly won a following for such signature designs as the supremely comfortable Chieftan lounge chair, the Judas table — a piece ornamented with stylish inlaid silver plaquettes — and the biomorphic Baker sofa. After an article authored by Kaufmann on Juhl and his work appeared in the U.S.-based magazine Interiors in 1948, he began receiving American commissions.
Kaufmann commissioned Juhl to create the exhibition design for, and contribute pieces to, the 1951 edition of the Good Design shows he organized for MoMA and Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Baker Furniture asked Juhl to design for the firm, and he produced a collection of chairs, tables and cabinets, and, later, the 1957 sofa.
Scandinavian modernist seating, such as the chairs and sofas Juhl created for Baker, became immensely popular in postwar America, as the seeds of the Scandinavian style that Juhl sowed took root and spread in the United States. Juhl and his work featured prominently in the landmark show “Design from Scandinavia,” which opened in 1954 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and traveled to 24 museums in the U.S. and Canada; over three years, it was seen by more than a million people.
Juhl’s furniture — as well as his ceramics, tableware and accessories — has an air of relaxed sophistication and elegance that is unique in the realm of mid-century design.
Find vintage Finn Juhl armchairs, coffee tables, desks and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.