Josef Frank (1885-1967) grew up in Vienna in a Jewish family and studied architecture at Konstgewerbeschule. In 1925 he started the Haus & Garten interior firm together with Oskar Wlach and Walther Sobotka.

Josef Frank was Vienna modernism’s foremost figures. He was against puritanical principals and feared that standardised interiors would make people too uniform.

Josef Frank began at Svenskt Tenn in 1934 and few years later had his international breakthrough. Svenskt Tenn at the World Expositions in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939 was completely ideal of the time with its bold contrasts in materials and colours. With great attention they became the expression for “Swedish Modern”.