Axel Einar Hjorth (1888-1959) is considered as one of the most important Swedish designers of the inter-war period. At the age of twenty, he entered the Konstindustriella Skolan in Stockholm but after the death of his stepfather, left penniless, he was forced to stop his studies and began working. He became known in the 1920s as an interior designer creating furniture for the city of Stockholm. Through his neoclassical-inspired work, he joined the artistic movement "Swedish Grace", a movement that began on the shores of the Baltic Sea. In 1927 he became head of the furniture department of the Nordiska Kompaniet department store, which was then the largest furniture manufacturer in Sweden and also the most prestigious.
Lot 176 - Axel Einar Hjorth (1888-1959)
Set of eight chairs
Oak, blue velvet, brass nails
Date of creation: around 1938
H 108 x W 49 x D 54 cm
Estimate: 12 000 - 18 000 €
In the 1930s, he began to create several furniture collections for holiday homes. The Social Democratic Party having set up two weeks of holidays per the year, the notion of secondary residence is developing. Most of these houses are located on small islands around Stockholm on the Baltic Sea. The Swedes are all crazy about this succession of islets and most of the wealthy Stockholmers will indeed recharge their batteries in charming houses. A magical place that Axel Einar Hjorth frequented in the summer. These very private islands will give their names to furniture collections such as "Utö", "Lovö", or "Sandhamn".
It is pine furniture often gouged with a primitive and refined appearance that gives to these pieces an astonishing modernism.
Lot 65 - Axel Einar Hjorth (1888-1959) Lovö
Lovö
Sofa
Pine and fabric
Nordiska Kompaniet Edition
Date of creation: around 1930
H 85× W 216 × D 80 cm
Estimate: 8 000 - 12 000 €
Lot 68 - Axel Einar Hjorth (1888-1959) Lovö
Lovö
Table and chair
Pine and fabric
Date of creation: around 1930
H 73 x W 180 x D 76.5 cm
H 73 x W 260 x D 76.5 (with extensions) (table)
H 92 x W 47 x D 54 cm (chair)
Estimate: 8 000 - 12 000 €
Axel Einar Hjorth, as a leading figure among an entire creative movement active between 1915 and 1930, is part of this incomparable group of artists and architects who depart from both the New Art and the National Romantic style.
