Jens Risom (1916- ) is a Danish-born American industrial designer known for his modern furniture.
Born in Copenhagen, the son of Danish architect Sven Risom, Risom studied in Copenhagen at the School for Arts and Crafts. He came to the United States in 1939 and began doing freelance design work for architects and companies such as Oak Knoll. During World War II he served with General George Patton's Third Army, but after the war, in 1946, he opened his own design firm, Jens Risom Design Inc. (JRD). For nearly thirty years JRD designed and sold high-quality modern furniture but in 1970, wanting to explore new areas of work, Risom sold the company. A few years later, in 1973, Risom opened a new firm called Design Control whose clients include the Howe Furniture Company and Gaylord (library furniture and supplies).
Risom's work is in the permanent collections of museums across the United States, including the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt and the Smithsonian. He has received numerous awards and honors such as the Russel Wright Award, the Brooklyn Museum/Modernism Design Award for Lifetime Achievement, and an honorary doctorate from the Rhode Island School of Design (of which he has been a trustee since 1970). In 1996 he received the prestigious Danish Knight’s Cross from Queen Margrethe of Denmark.
From the guide to the Jens Risom Design, Inc. Records, 1949-1969, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
