Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Warm, exceptionally versatile and crafted with a range of appealing materials, vintage Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen furniture showcases the Danish duo’s penchant for innovation and durable design. For decades, the pair created sleek coffee tables, seductive lounge chairs and other pieces that are characterized by the practicality and elegance commonly attributed to Scandinavian modernism.
Both Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen attended what is now the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, with Mølgaard-Nielsen having completed his studies under the Danish furniture design pioneer and architect Kaare Klint. Trained as an architect and cabinetmaker, Hvidt established his own firm in 1940 and taught at his alma mater for a few years. After they won a design competition held in Stockholm, Hvidt partnered with Mølgaard-Nielsen in 1944 to establish their firm in Copenhagen.
The collaboration between Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen yielded more than 250 designs and lasted over 30 years. Aside from having created a wardrobe for the Queen of Denmark as well as numerous architectural structures, the pair’s flagship achievements include 1944’s teak Portex chair, which is Denmark’s first-ever stacking chair (and is occasionally attributed to Hvidt alone), and the AX chair.
A masterpiece of technical expertise and innovative woodworking, the sculptural AX armchair shares commonalities with the work of legendary Finnish designer Alvar Aalto — whose output included similarly curvaceous seating such as the Paimio armchair, often designed in partnership with his wife, Aino. It features double-curved laminated wood in the seat and back — which could be mass-produced — and is an early example of knock-down furniture. This meant that it could be easily dismantled and assembled at its destination, which rendered the chair economical for transport on cargo ships and therefore could reach a worldwide audience.
While vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard furniture isn’t as popular as the work of Finn Juhl, a like-minded Danish modernist who helped popularize Scandinavian design in America as well as the use of teak in furniture, the innovative AX chair is similarly as expressive and inviting as Juhl’s seating. The AX was designed in collaboration with manufacturer Fritz Hansen during the late 1940s and went into production in 1950. It gave way to a series that includes tables and other types of seating.
Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen collaborated regularly with Fritz Hansen, France & Søn and Søborg Møbelfabrik. Their work can be found in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen’s Design Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
Find vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard dining tables, coffee tables, modular sofas, storage cabinets and more on 1stDibs.
1660s Danish Scandinavian Modern Antique Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Wood, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Cane, Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Steel, Chrome
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Leather, Beech
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Upholstery, Teak
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Upholstery, Cane, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Latvian Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Papercord, Walnut
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Papercord, Teak
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Upholstery, Cane, Wood, Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Wool, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Fabric, Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Cane, Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Wool, Rattan, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Upholstery, Teak
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Upholstery, Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Leather, Upholstery, Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Beech, Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Fabric, Oak, Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Enamel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Oak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Mohair, Teak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Rosewood
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Palisander
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Upholstery, Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Rattan, Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Leather, Mahogany
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Cane, Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Cane, Wood, Beech
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Leather
1960s Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Rosewood, Teak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Cane, Teak, Fabric
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Wool, Beech, Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Fabric, Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Beech, Oak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Formica, Palisander
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Scandinavian Modern Hvidt & Mølgaard Furniture
Brass