Jens Risom: A Seat at the Table is the first authoritative monograph on the Danish-American designer who quietly shaped the mid-century modern interior, introducing Scandinavian design principles to the United States and building a body of work that still commands serious attention on the secondary market.
About This Book
Jens Risom occupies a curious position in design history: enormously influential, yet rarely afforded the canonical status of his contemporaries. This biography corrects that oversight with depth and material substance. Author Vicky Lowry traces Risom's formation in Denmark, his pivotal early collaborations with Georg Jensen and Hans Knoll, and the launch of his own studio — Jens Risom Design — through to his legacy in the twenty-first century. The book draws on never-before-seen sketches, photographs, and archival ephemera, including material connected to the Richard Avedon-shot advertising campaign that became a defining artefact of mid-century modern furniture culture. For students of Scandinavian design, furniture history, and American modernism, this is essential primary source material.
Key Features
- 264 pages of archival photography, original sketches, and documentary ephemera spanning Risom's full career
- Written by Vicky Lowry
- Case studies include Risom's inaugural 1942 collection for Hans Knoll Furniture Company and his celebrated prefab house on Block Island, RI
- Published by Phaidon, ISBN 9781838663070
What You'll Discover
- How Risom's 1942 designs formed the majority of Hans Knoll's inaugural furniture collection, establishing the commercial foundation of a now-iconic American design company
- The arc of his education in Denmark and how Scandinavian design principles were translated — and transformed — for the American market
- The enduring production life of his key pieces, still manufactured today by Knoll, Design Within Reach, De Padova, Camira, and Ralph Pucci
- The story behind the Richard Avedon-shot advertising campaign, which became as culturally resonant as the furniture itself
About the Author
Vicky Lowry is the author of this first authoritative biography of Jens Risom. She was granted unique access to previously unpublished archival material — sketches, photographs, and ephemera — held within the Risom archive. Further biographical details are [Details available upon request].
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 264
- Dimensions: 300 x 224 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781838663070
- Publisher: Phaidon
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Furniture designers, collectors of mid-century modern work, design historians, and anyone serious about the Scandinavian design tradition and its American reception.