Carl Malmsten
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A Carl Malmsten mahogany working table, Åtvidaberg, Sweden ca 1934.
Mahogny with stylized floral inlays in palisander and other woods, two drawers. 90 x 70 cm, height 77 cm.
Provenance
Sparbanken (Swedbank), Örebro, the table was made for the interior, ca 1934.
More information
The bank office on Drottninggatan 18 in Örebro was designed by Ivar Tengbom and built in 1934. Carl Malmsten was hired as a designer for the most important high quality furniture pieces, produced by Åtvidaberg while Bodafors was commissioned by the main part of office interior.
Designer
Carl Malmsten is one of Sweden's most famous furniture designers. Many of his furniture are considered modern design classics, for example, the cane chair "Lilla Åland", the armchair "Farmor", the sofa "Samsas", the cabinet "Herrgården", and the furniture series "Vardag".
Both "Lilla Åland" and "Vardag" adopted the ideals of "beautiful everyday goods" of the 1940s. Their neat shape and frugal design quickly became timeless interior details that we still see in many homes today.
At the beginning of his career, Malmsten interned at various carpentry workshops and studied furniture at Nordiska museet and Skansen. He had his breakthrough in 1916 when he was commissioned to design part of the interior of Stockholm's City Hall.
During his career, Malmsten collaborated with several architects, such as Ragnar Östberg, Ivar Tengbom, and Ferdinand Boberg. He designed furniture for Stockholm's concert hall and Ulriksdal castle. He participated in the now iconic hosing exhibition at Liljevalchs gallery in 1917, where the term "Beautiful everyday goods" was coined.