Finn Juhl Nv46
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Teak
Recent Sales
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Teak
Vintage 1940s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Rosewood
Vintage 1940s Danish Armchairs
Vintage 1940s Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Teak
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Teak
Vintage 1940s Danish Armchairs
Leather
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary American Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal, Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass, Linen, Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
Copper
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
2010s Table Lamps
Iron
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Oak
Vintage 1950s Danish Modern Chairs
Synthetic, Teak
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Beech
Antique Late 18th Century Scottish Regency Linen Presses
Pine
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mohair, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Cane, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Mahogany
Finn Juhl Nv46 For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Finn Juhl Nv46?
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.
Finding the Right Armchairs for You
Armchairs have run the gamut from prestige to ease and everything in between, and everyone has an antique or vintage armchair that they love.
Long before industrial mass production democratized seating, armchairs conveyed status and power.
In ancient Egypt, the commoners took stools, while in early Greece, ceremonial chairs of carved marble were designated for nobility. But the high-backed early thrones of yore, elevated and ornate, were merely grandiose iterations of today’s armchairs.
Modern-day armchairs, built with functionality and comfort in mind, are now central to tasks throughout your home. Formal dining armchairs support your guests at a table for a cheery feast, a good drafting chair with a deep seat is parked in front of an easel where you create art and, elsewhere, an ergonomic wonder of sorts positions you at the desk for your 9 to 5.
When placed under just the right lamp where you can lounge comfortably, both elbows resting on the padded supports on each side of you, an upholstered armchair — or a rattan armchair for your light-suffused sunroom — can be the sanctuary where you’ll read for hours.
If you’re in the mood for company, your velvet chesterfield armchair is a place to relax and be part of the conversation that swirls around you. Maybe the dialogue is about the beloved Papa Bear chair, a mid-century modern masterpiece from Danish carpenter and furniture maker Hans Wegner, and the wingback’s strong association with the concept of cozying up by the fireplace, which we can trace back to its origins in 1600s-era England, when the seat’s distinctive arm protrusions protected the sitter from the heat of the period’s large fireplaces.
If the fireside armchair chat involves spirited comparisons, your companions will likely probe the merits of antique and vintage armchairs such as Queen Anne armchairs, Victorian armchairs or even Louis XVI armchairs, as well as the pros and cons of restoration versus conservation.
Everyone seems to have a favorite armchair and most people will be all too willing to talk about their beloved design. Whether that’s the unique Favela chair by Brazilian sibling furniture designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, who repurposed everyday objects to provocative effect; or Marcel Breuer’s futuristic tubular metal Wassily lounge chair; the functionality-first LC series from Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret; or the Eames lounge chair of the mid-1950s created by Charles and Ray Eames, there is an iconic armchair for everyone and every purpose. Find yours on 1stDibs right now.