Recognized as the father of Danish furniture design, Kaare Klint was born in Copenhagen in 1888 to the family of architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint. While in his younger years he studied painting, he eventually apprenticed as a furniture maker, attended technical school, Jens Møller-Jensens furniture school, and the Artists' Studio Schools in Copenhagen. In 1914, at just 26 years old, Klint designed Denmark’s first modern design classic, the Faaborg Chair, for the Faaborg Museum in collaboration with his mentor and fellow architect Carl ‘Calle’ Petersen. Following the wide acclaim for his early designs, he received several other commissions for museums including the Thorvaldsens Museum and the Danish Museum of Decorative Art in Copenhagen.
In 1920, he opened his own office and soon after helped to found the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The following year, he began his influential tenure as the first lecturer in Furniture Design also founding the furniture and spatial design department at the Royal Academy. Considered radical at the time, he focused on function, honest craftsmanship, and quality of materials. His focus was heavily on construction and less on the ornamentation of furniture drawing influence from classical styles and other cultures. His work emphasized harmonic, well-proportioned pieces that adapted to the human form, setting the standard for Danish Modern design. After his father’s death in 1930, Klint oversaw the construction of the monumental Grundtvig's Church in Copenhagen, begun by his father in 1921, until it’s completion in 1940.
In his highly acclaimed career, Klint was awarded the title of Honorary Royal Designer for Industry in London in 1949 and the C.F. Hansen Medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1954. His work is included in collections around the world including the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Danish Museum of Art & Design, the Faaborg Museum in Copenhagen, and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem among many others. Kaare Klint died in Copenhagen in 1954.
