Carl Malmsten
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a Swedish Grace chest of drawers, Svensk Hemslöjd, 1930s.
Veneered with different kinds of wood, three drawers, the upper drawer with inlays of stylized floral borders. 114 x 48,5, height 75 cm. Key included.
Minor wear.
Literature
Picture from The Carl Malmsten Archive, dated 1931.
Compare Bukowskis 'Moderna katalog' nr 525, lot nr 1384, the model of chest of drawers with signature CM 1931.
More information
The model is illustrated in the Malmsten Archives.
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.