Axel Einar Hjorth
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a stained pine "Sport" table, Nordiska Kompaniet, Sweden, 1930s.
160 x 65 cm, height 74 cm.
Wear, damages, later lacquered surface.
Provenance
Brostugan, Drottningholm, Stockholm
Brostugan was built as a bridge keeper's residence during the 1780s after Gustav III had the first bridge built between Kärsön and Drottningholm Castle. The building had this function until 1931, when it was instead renovated and rebuilt into a café under the direction of architect Ivar Tengbom. During this transformation, a new interior with "Sportstuge" furniture by Axel Einar Hjorth for Nordiska Kompaniet, model 'Sandhamn' and 'Sport', also took place.
Designer
Axel Einar Hjorth is considered one of Sweden's most significant furniture designers during the 1920s and 30s. Hjorth's early employers included Svenska Möbelfabrikerna in Bodafors and the Stockholm Crafts Association. The big breakthrough came as chief architect for Nordiska Kompaniet, a position he took up in 1927 and held until 1938. Hjorth's first major assignment was the Nordiska Kompaniet's lavish stand at the World Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929, to then participate in several major international exhibitions during the following decade. In 1929, Hjorth also breaks new ground and designs the first series of rustic furniture in stained pine, the so-called sports cabin furniture that was named "Lovö", "Utö" and "Sandhamn" after the islands in the Stockholm archipelago.
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