Alfred Christensen

Rare armchair by Alfred Christensen for Slagelse Møbelværk, Denmark 1940s.

About Alfred Christensen and Slagelse Møbelværk:

The brothers Erik and Alfred took over the furniture factory founded by their father in 1931. Alfred was the artistic director, Erik the financial manager. The design of Slagelse furniture is therefore usually attributed to Alfred, although it is a family business in which all members have contributed to the success of the company.

In the early years, the company mainly produced its own designs, boldly curved armchairs and chairs, which are highly valued by collectors today.

The company became one of the most important Danish furniture manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s, producing designs by renowned designers such as Ib Kofod Larsen, Ole Wanscher, Arne Vodder and Erik Wørts. Alfred Christensen died in 1962, leaving his brother to run the company, which finally closed in 1978.

In our opinion, this chair is a good example of the transition from a classic armchair of the first half of the 20th century to the experiments with organic free forms of the second half of the century.

The original velvet, worn but not torn and usable as it is, gives it an extraordinary character, rather like jeans worn out by decades of use.