Scandinavian Coffee Table in Rosewood with Drawers

While information on designer Johannes Andersen is limited and difficult to verify, it is believed that he was born in 1903 in Aarhus, Denmark, and that he initially apprenticed as a cabinetmaker. He went on to work for many years in a number of workshops before opening his own architectural and furniture workshop in the 1930s.

Andersen’s designs span seating, tables, and storage in well-crafted materials, such as rosewood and teak. His career paralleled the midcentury’s growing appreciation for Danish furniture designs, and he attracted international attention—particularly for coffee tables like the highly sculptural Smile Table.

Andersen worked steadily for his own firm—as well as Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian companies such as Trensum, CFC Silkeborg, Bramin, and Uldum Møbelfabrik—until he closed his shop in his eighties. He passed away in 1991.