467. HILDING NILSSON. Mirror with shelf, own workshop 1960s, pine.

Height 110.5, width 33, depth 10 cm.

HISTORIAN
Hilding Nilsson (1925—2021) was a Swedish furniture carpenter and wood artist. He was educated at Malmsten's Workshop School in Stockholm, and was given the encouraging review by Carl Malmsten himself: “WORKSHOP WORK: Quality furniture in pine and precious woods of the utmost difficulty. Excellent skill, utmost care.”

The Master's Letter was issued in Stockholm in 1954. Nilsson's sample consisted of a mahogany cabinet, drawn by Carl-Axel Acking, for the Stockholm City Handicraft Association.

Nilsson's design language is characterized by Malmsten's influence, focusing on function-based simplicity, material sense and high quality. In the early years, the production of unique furniture dominated, including for several Swedish county governors. Among his most prestigious assignments is furniture for Dag Hammarskjöld's office in New York in 1953, where he executed, among other things, a desk and a sideboard.

In addition to furniture carpentry, Nilsson worked as a special teacher in wood and design, first in Stockholm and later in Uppsala, between 1965 and 1990. His later output was characterized by artistically designed wooden objects and sculptural works.