It’s a common belief that his first name was Henning but actually it was Henry Kjærnulf. Just for the record.
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
@fredhh Are you saying there was no designer with the name H. Kjærnulf, or that the H did not stand for Henry or Henning? Coincidentally, I may go look at a set of these chairs today.
I agree that most of the pieces attributed to him are not very interesting. A lot of it, obviously, is sellers and collectors wanting to attach names to furniture, hoping it will enhance value.
As far as the name question, here's a photo of Henry Kjærnulf's grave site in Odense from Arkiv.dk. The description:
Grave site for Henry Kjærnulf (1911-75). Kjærnulf was an architect, church guardian and lived at Stenløse Bygade 15.
Architect and churchwarden, but not a furniture designer.
At Barnebys and Bruun Rasmussen auction house (okay, auction houses can't be taken seriously as source anyway) he is listed as born in Ubberun. Ubberun doesn't exist. There is a small village near Odense called Ubberud, but neither in Ubberud nor in Odense is he listed as "famous personality".
If he was indeed a well-known designer, then one would assume that he would be listed in his hometown, but that is not the case, neither in Ubberud nor in Odense.
Where is his arcitecture documented? Buildings etc?
Aren't furniture designers typically referred to as "arkitekt" in Denmark?
The only reference I've found so far to Kjaernulf as a furniture architect/designer is this from a website about the history of Nyrup Mobelfabrik in Stenlille.
When architect Henning Kjærnulf, Odense, began to design oak living rooms in a peasant style, the factory was expanded again. A new factory was built in the neighboring area to the north of the former sports field, and sales increased through the 1960s. Around 1970, it was part of an export company Scan Rustik with 8 factories. It was exported to 6 countries, i.a. Germany and Norway.
Poul Petersen resigned as head of the factory in 1977. A director was to run the company, but it went less well. The factory was then sold to Boflex by director BJ Diekmann in 1980. Boflex continued furniture production.
Nyrup Møbelfabrik thus existed for 75 years and provided work for many people.
https://lokalhistorisk-arkiv-stenlille.dk/nyrup-moebelfabrik
Also found this post on a Danish genealogy website called forum.slaegt.dk. by someone researching his history.
Hello.
I am trying to find out what Henry Kjærulff Rasmussen was doing between 1925 and 1940.He was born in Ubberud, Odense on 22 August 1911 and is the son of carpenter Hans Peter Rasmussen.I have found him in FT in Ubberud 1916-21 and 25. In FT 1930 he lives on Vindegade 48 and is a carpenter with Ragner Bromer Hansen. In FT 1940, he again lives with his father and mother in Ubberup and is employed by architect E. Knudsen in Odense. I hope to be able to get help through the leg rollers and see what he did and where he was between 1925 and 1940, in addition to the fact that he was an apprentice in Odense in 1930. It should just be mentioned that in 1955 he changed his name to Henry Kjærnulf but that he is known by the artist name Henning Kjærnulf. He was a furniture architect.
Interesting that he is called in the censuses Henry "Kjærulff" Rasmussen, and not Kjærnulf, it's not a typo, his whole family is called that.
The question must be allowed, if Henry "Kjærulff" Rasmussen and Henning Kjærnulf really are the same person, to change his first name from Henry to Henning, okay, but why to change his family name from Kjærulff to Kjærnulf, that is curious.
And the question remains why he's not listed as famous designer in the Ubberud and Odense archives.
And what means this?
http://www.artnet.de/k%C3%BCnstler/richard-jensen-and-kjaerulff-rasmussen/
https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Richard-Jensen-and-Kjaerulff-Rasmussen/99B8E1106BC2969B
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