IB JUST ANDERSEN (1884 - 1943)

IB Just Andersen was born on July 13th 1884 in Godhavn, Greenland. His first apprenticeship was as a decorative sculptor and later, in 1910, studied at the Royal Academy for art followed by studying at the School of Danish Crafts in 1912 under Jens Moller Jensen.  He  later married Alba Mathilde Happiness, who was a chaser for Mogens Ballin in 1915 and later worked for Georg Jensen. In his early career designed for Georg Jensen, A. Michelsen and P. Hertz. Inspired by the silversmiths the couple worked for, he opened Just Andersen Pewter in 1918. He is best known for his neoclassic Scandinavian design of articles for everyday use in pewter, brass, copper, bronze and Disko. (Disko Metal is an alloy of lead and antimony, which was Andersen's own invention and named after the Disko Bay of Greenland, where he grew up.) It was used to produce "Bronze" items, such as candlesticks, vases, sculptures and models in the foundry, because it was cheaper than real bronze. After being cast the pieces were patinated as bronze, copper or brass. Just Andersen had his own show rooms in Berlin, London, New York and Los Angeles. In 1934 he designed Blok flatware for Jensen. In 1935, his marriage to Alba was dissolved and in 1938 he remarried, this time to an interior decorator named Esther Nielsine Jakobine Petersen.

In addition to his work in metal, there is also a large collection of pottery and ceramic sculpture which he produced over the years up to his death on December 11th 1943. Currently, Galleri B in Roskilde is the only public collection of Just Andersen pieces open for public viewing, and the Just Andersen Association holds its annual meetings, and its goals are to promote the public awareness of the artist's work.

Click HERE to see Acadia, designed by Ib Just Andersen

Sources: http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Andersen
              http://www.sn.dk/Roskilde/Roskilde-er-Just-Andersen-land/artikel/273416#.U0vphfldVsN