Carl Malmsten
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a palisander sideboard/ chest, Sweden 1944
Three sides showing rich floral inlays in different kinds of wood with motifs from the Swedish flora, the front with a larger fall front above a smaller. The back marked with CM and a pencil note 1944. 125 x 45 cm, height 75,3 cm.
Minor wear.
Provenance
Doctor Vesterlund, Alvesta Sweden.
In the Malmstens archive it is stated that this piece of furniture is registered as a chest, designed by Malmsten in 1944 and ordered by Dr Vesterlund in Alvesta.
Thence by descent.
Literature
Paul Artaria, 'Carl Malmsten -Swedish Furniture', Wepf & Co Verlag Basel, 1954. This piece depicted on p 120, described as a
'Cabinet, given as a present to a flower lover, with elaborate inlaid work'.
Lena Blomquist, 'Carl Malmsten känd och okänd', Jure Förlag, Stockholm 2012. This actual piece is depicted on p 147. ( unfortunately wrongly stated as designed in 1938).
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.