Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Swedish furniture designer Axel Einar Hjorth created tables, chairs, cabinets and other pieces that were as elegant as they were functional, and he frequently worked in references to a litany of inspirations including French Art Deco, Gustavian style and modernism. Ahead of his time, his style was refined and daringly simple.
Born in Krokek, Sweden, Hjorth grew up in a foster family and at 20 moved to Stockholm where he studied architecture and design at the Högre Konstindustriella Skolan (now the University of Arts, Crafts & Design). Although he dropped out when his foster father died, he went on to work for some of the largest furniture manufacturers in Sweden during the 1920s.
Hjorth’s work was featured in the 1923 Gothenburg Exhibition world’s fair, and he exhibited a birch and cherry cabinet in the 1927 “Swedish Contemporary Decorative Arts” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His role as the head of the furniture department at Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), an upscale department store in Stockholm, from 1927 to 1938, further brought his designs to widespread acclaim, including pieces exhibited at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
At the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition, an influential event in the emergence of functionalism in Swedish design, Hjorth exhibited a dozen room settings that featured examples of sportstugemöbler. These furniture lines were named for islands in Sweden’s archipelago — Utö, Blidö and Torö — with designs intended for cabins and vacation homes. The use of solid Swedish pine in these pieces revealed a love of traditional rustic furniture while the simple forms boldly looked to the future. He also brought his eclectic influences to armchairs formed from tubular metal, blocky case pieces made from birch and upholstered sofas with neoclassical details, each exuberantly mixing form and function.
Find vintage Axel Einar Hjorth furniture today on 1stDibs.
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch, Macassar
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch, Zebra Wood
1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
Early 20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
Early 20th Century Swedish Art Deco Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
Early 20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Aluminum
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
1930s British Art Deco Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Mid-20th Century Swedish Art Deco Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Czech Art Deco Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Art Deco Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Art Deco Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Stainless Steel
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Elm
1930s Danish Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch, Walnut
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
1930s Swedish Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
1930s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
1930s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
Early 20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Pine
1930s Swedish Art Deco Vintage Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Early 20th Century Swedish Art Deco Axel Einar Hjorth Desks and Writing Tables
Birch