Ib Kofod Larsen was an architect and furniture designer, admired for the way that he used wood grain to create graceful and distinctive patterns on his unique pieces. The quality of his materials make his designs timeless and deeply admired by designers and collectors alike. His design style is represented by minimalist and organic forms. His versatile, practical pieces were what established him as a designer.

Born in Denmark in 1921, Kofod-Larsen studied at the Danish Royal Academy in Copenhagen, like many of his contemporaries. He mostly worked with materials like teak, rosewood and luxurious leathers. Kofod-Larsens’ design collection includes chairs, cabinets, credenzas, bookcases and much more. His first acknowledgment as a designer was when he won the Holmegaard Glass Competition and, in that same year, received the Danish Cabinetmakers Guild’s annual award in 1948. He worked for companies like G-Plan in the United Kingdom, Selig in Denmark and Faarup Møbelfabrik in Sweden. One of his most notable pieces is the Model 66 sideboard, designed for Faarup Møbelfabrik.

He worked with OPE Möbler, creating one of his most iconic designs, the Sälen or Seal Chair, manufactured in the 1950s. The popularity of another one of his pieces sky rocketed when Queen Elizabeth II purchased a pair of the, initially named, U-56 chair. The model name changed to “the Elizabeth chair” in honor of the Queen. His work with British furniture company High Wycombe, helped them to gain fame with a cleaner and more minimalist furniture line called G-Plan while Selig of Denmark imported his designs to the U.S. market in the 1950s.

Though Kofod-Larsen passed away in 2003, in recent years, his designs have become more sought-after and collected by buyers. He will remain as one of the most important Danish Modern figures of the mid-20th century period.