Kurt Ostervig Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Kurt Østervig (1912 - 1986) was a famous mid-century Danish furniture designer. Best known for his inventive use of wood and leather, he produced a range of unique furniture for various environments including hotels, ships, hospitals and theatres. Read the full biography

Kurt Østervig (1912 - 1986) was a famous mid-century Danish furniture designer. Best known for his inventive use of wood and leather, he produced a range of unique furniture for various environments including hotels, ships, hospitals and theatres. Unlike the curved and sloping lines of his contemporaries, Østervig often favored cleaner, more angular shapes that emphasized the grain and texture of the wood, and thus foregrounded the natural beauty of his materials. Born in 1912 in Denmark, he went on to train as a shipbuilder in Odense on the island of Furnen in the Baltic Sea. He subsequently worked for the studio of E. Knudsen, where his predilection for using woods such as oak, teak, rosewood and walnut, as opposed to steel, which was popular in the industry at the time, was encouraged. This contributed to the unique and warm feel of his work, something that continues to be appreciated by collectors to this day. Østervig eventually opened his own design studio where he created many iconic works in the 1960s. The designer died in 1986 in Denmark.