SIGVAARD BERNADOTTE (1907 - 2002)

Bernadotte was the son of Gustav Adolf VI, king of Sweden and brother of Ingrid, queen mother of Denmark. As a young man he wanted to become an actor but his father and grandfather didn't approve so he studied art history at Sweden's Uppsala University. He attended the School of Decorative Arts in Stockholm and became committed to designing practical, useful things that were stylish and beautiful not beautiful ornamental things with no purpose.

At the age of 23, he began to design for the Georg Jensen Silversmithy. His designs were a departure from what was thought of as the Jensen style. He introduced clear cut disciplined forms common in modern Swedish taste to the Danish Silver tradition. His elegant and distinguished designs show a preference for geometrical figures, spheres, cylinders and funnels enhanced with engraved lines, profiles and soldered parallel fluting.

After leaving the Georg Jensen Silversmithy, Bernadotte created industrial designs and in 1950 he formed a partnership with the architect Acton Bjorn, Bernadotte & Bjorn Industridesign. The firm designed many different products ranging from calculators to office refrigerators. In 1964, an offshoot of the firm, Bernadotte Design with Sigvaard Bernadotte at its head was created and it became the largest design consulting firm in Northern Europe.

Bernadotte experimented in all areas of design including designing sets for Hollywood movies.

Bernadotte was a major figure in the field of Scandinavian industrial design and a leader in the Society of Swedish Industrial Designers and the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.

From SIGVAARD BERNADOTTE by ERINDRINGER and DESIGN SIGVAARD BERNADOTTE

Click HERE to read about Sigvaard Bernadotte's contributions to Danish Silver

Click HERE to read about Sigvarad Bernadotte's contributions to The Georg Jensen Silversmithy

Click HERE to see items in Bernadotte, designed by Sigvaard Bernadotte