Danish master craftsman Hans J. Wegner believed that a chair should be made well enough to last at least 50 years. His iconic “The Chair” may be the ultimate expression of that philosophy. Wegner never named his chairs. The first was called number 1, the second number 2, and so on. Wegner designed more than 500 chairs during his career, and the reason why some of them carry a name, is because of the producers and clients. The PP 503 or "the round one" as Wegner himself called it was first exhibited in 1949. One year later it was shown on the cover of the American magazine Interiors, who referred to it as the world's most beautiful chair.

In 1960, the TV company CBS bought twelve copies of the chair for the first live broadcast of an election debate; between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. It was Kennedy who requested this chair; he wanted a comfortable chair for his aching back. 70 million people watched the Wegner chair on live broadcast and it was even mentioned in the newspaper election reports the day after. As a result the PP 503 as also become known as the Kennedy Chair. 

Material & Features

The clean wood design is stripped to its bare essentials, a sculptural semicircle resting on four tapered legs with a top grain leather seat. The empty space that separates the back from the seat, gives the piece an elegance and economy of form that results in greater comfort, not less.

The frame of “The Chair” is crafted from solid wood. Available in American walnut, Ash stained black or American maple. The padded seat is upholstered in top grain leather.

This product is a reproduction of the original design by Hans J Wegner.

Dimensions
Width – 63 cm
Depth – 53 cm
Height – 76.5 cm

Frame – Solid wood – American walnut, American Maple or Ash

Seat – padded and upholstered in top grain leather

Leather Description: Full Italian Semi Aniline Leather
Leather origin: Bovine Leather
Dyeing: Semi Aniline
Typology: Full grain
Thickness: 0.9mm – 1.1mm

Hans Jørgen Wegner, (April 2, 1914 - January 26, 2007), was one of the most innovative and prolific of all Danish furniture designers that made mid-century Danish design internationally popular. His work belongs to a modernist school that preserves function. He is probably best known for his many chairs of genuine craftsmanship.

Wegner worked for some time for Arne Jacobsen, another famous Danish designer. Wegner was in charge of the furniture in the Aarhus Municipal Hall, which Jacobsen designed. After some years under Jacobsen, Wegner started his own company. Along with fellow architect, he drew furniture for FDB (a Danish chain of grocery stores), spearheaded by Erik Kold - who founded an organization of Danish furniture makers that launched Danish design abroad.

Wegner's chairs were made with the modern, sculptural idea that they could stand on their own, rather than as parts of a furniture set. The "Peacock" chair from 1947, with a slatted back rest fanning out to evoke the bird's plume, was inspired by the traditional "Windsor" chair. His 1949 folding chair was made to be hung on the wall, and his "Shell" chair from the same year experimented with curving the wood in three dimensions to form the seat. The multi-purpose "Valet" chair, designed in 1953, had elements for hanging up or storing each piece of a man's suit. The backrest is carved to be used as a coat hanger, pants can be hung on a rail at the edge of the seat and everything else can be stowed in a storage space underneath the seat. In 1960 he came out with several variations on the "Ox" chair which came with or without horns, and was a fine example of the line Wegner could masterfully walk between elegance and playfulness. "We must take care," he once said, "that everything doesn't get so dreadfully serious. We must play--but we must play seriously." In more recent years he has continued to design chairs and has also worked with lighting, such as the "Pole" lamp created in 1976 with his daughter Marianne. Wegner has stated that, "the chair does not exist. The good chair is a task one is never completely done with."

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