Jens Risom, Danish-born American furniture designer, Died at 100

Jens Risom was born on May 8, 1916, and died on December 9, 2016.

He was a Danish-American furniture designer.

He was an exemplary of Mid-Century modern design, Risom was one of the first designers to introduce Scandinavian design in the United States

Risom’s father was a prominent architect, Sven Risom, a member of the school of Nordic Classicism.

He was educated as a designer at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design (Kunsthåndværkerskolen), where he studied under Ole Wanscher and Kaare Klint.

He was classmates with Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen.

He spent two years at Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, before beginning work as a furniture developer and interior designer with the architectural firm of Ernst Kuhn.

Later, Risom relocated to Stockholm, taking a job with a small architectural firm.

After arriving there Risom joined the design department of Nordiska Kompaniet where he was introduced to Alvar Aalto and Bruno Mathsson.

In 1939, Risom traveled to New York City to study American design.

Jens Risom passed away at 100 years old.