Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890 – 1980
Bobbye Tigerman, Curator, Decorative Arts and Design, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Finn Juhl, Baker Furniture, Inc., Armchair, model 400-1/2, designed 1951, leather, walnut, 32 × 28 × 24 in., Milwaukee Art Museum, bequest of Dr. Lucille Cohn (M2013.69), photo © Milwaukee Art Museum, by John R. Glembin
Howard Smith, Vallila, Textile, designed c. 1978, linen, 48 × 28 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Kenneth Erwin (M.2018.292), © Howard Smith, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Kaj Franck, Nuutajärvi Glassworks, Goblets, model KF 486, designed 1968, these examples c. 1970–71, glass, largest goblet: 7 ⅝ × 3 × 3 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Decorative Arts and Design Council Fund and partial gift of Marc Treib (M.2019.160.1–.6), photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Jens H. Quistgaard, Dansk Designs, Kobenstyle casseroles and pitcher, designed 1955, casseroles: enameled steel, red: 4 ¾ × 10 ¼ × 7 ¾ in., yellow: 5 1/8 × 11 ½ × 9 in., pitcher: enameled steel, plastic, 8 × 5 ¾ × 4 in., private collections, photo © Milwaukee Art Museum, by John R. Glembin
Lillian Holm, First Sight of New York hanging, 1930s, linen, cotton, wool, viscose rayon, 82 x 64 1/8 in, collection of the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI; gift of Mrs. Lillian Holm in memory of Ralph T. Sayles (FIA 1965.14), © Lillian Holm, photo © Flint Institute of Arts, by Heather Jackson
Why was Danish modern furniture so popular, and why does it remain so? How did Scandinavian immigrants to the United States in the 1920s shape American design culture in the 1950s? Did IKEA invent flat-pack, DIY furniture? Bobbye Tigerman will share thoughts about these questions and more in a conversation about her recent exhibition Scandinavian Design and the United States, co-organized with past ADAF speaker Monica Obniski. The exhibition examines the design exchanges between the United States and the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden over the 20th century and includes a wide range of design media, from iconic Dansk kitchenware to a Volvo.
Bobbye Tigerman is a curator of design, craft, and architecture and has served as the Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator, Decorative Arts and Design at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) since 2006. Her mission is to connect with museum audiences by communicating the relevance of design and craft to everyday life and to provide a platform to underrepresented designers. Her exhibitions include Scandinavian Design and the United States (2022), Beyond Bling: Jewelry from the Lois Boardman Collection (2016), California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way (2011), and From the Spoon to the City: Design by Architects from LACMA's Collection (2009). She has earned degrees from Harvard University, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the University of Delaware/Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. She is currently working on the inaugural installation of the David Geffen Galleries for LACMA’s permanent collection, scheduled to open in April 2026.