Sigvard Bernadotte

Carl-Eric Björkegren's collection.
Private Swedish collection.

The National Museum, Stockholm, "Design Sigvard Bernadotte" 5 December 1997 - 15 March 1998

Sigvard Bernadotte was a Swedish prince who gained international recognition as both a designer and illustrator. He was born in 1907 at Drottningholm Palace as the son of then Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf and Princess Margaret of Great Britain.
Sigvard Bernadotte became the first in the Bernadotte family to obtain an academic degree. In the fall of 1926, he enrolled at Uppsala University, studying art history and political science among other subjects. In 1930, he was admitted to the Decorative Line at the Technical School in Stockholm, studying under Professor Olle Hjortzberg, whose influence shaped the strict and concentrated design for which Bernadotte later became famous. In 1934, Sigvard Bernadotte married Erika Patzek, resulting in his loss of succession rights to the crown.
Sigvard Bernadotte is one of Sweden's most famous designers, having worked with a wide variety of techniques and materials. He designed everything from everyday items to exclusive silverware, notably for Georg Jensen. Bernadotte was also occasionally commissioned by Illums Bolighus in Copenhagen, the carpet company Nessim, Bing & Grøndahl, and the German company Rosenthal. For two decades, Sigvard Bernadotte was a central figure in Scandinavian industrial design, and his company became an informal design school, praised for its meticulously crafted function and form in its products. Bernadotte, among other things, designed the so-called 'Margrethe bowls' and the 'virr-varr' pattern that adorns numerous tabletops.