ARNE JACOBSEN was one of Denmark's most influential 20th century architects and designers. Many of Jacobsen's furniture designs have become classic, including the Ant chair from 1952 and the Swan and the Egg which were both designed for the Radisson SAS Hotel. Jacobsen is, however, perhaps best known for the Model 3107 chair of 1955, known also as the Number 7 Chair which has sold over 5 million copies Both his buildings and products, combine modernist ideals with a Nordic love of naturalism.

Arne Jacobsen began training as a mason before studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, Copenhagen where he won a silver medal for a chair that was then exhibited at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Art Decoratifs in Paris. Influenced by Le Corbusier, Gunnar Asplund and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Jacobsen embraced a functionalist approach from the outset. He was among the first to introduce modernist ideas to Denmark and create industrial furniture that built upon on its craft-based design heritage.

During the 1960s, Jacobsens most important work was a unified architectural and interior design scheme for St. Catherines College, Oxford, which, like his earlier work for the Royal Hotel, involved the design of site-specific furniture.