Let us start off by saying Finn Juhl was THE designer that brought Danish Modern to America.

Arguably Finn Juhl’s most famous design, the “Chieftain Chair” was inspired by the modern and abstract art Juhl was influenced by as a young man. Juhl grew up with an authoritative father, who persuaded him to follow a career as an architect studying at the Royal Danish Acedemy of Fine Arts, rather than pursue his interest in art history. Like many Danish designers, Finn Juhl’s designs stemmed from things he created for himself, these designs focused on form rather than function (a trait very different from Danish tradition). You can see these properties from the beautifully sculpted leather armrest sitting atop the chair’s teak frame, seeing the seat and back as sculpturally different from the chair frame is a reoccurring characteristic of Finn Juhl’s work.