Viggo Sten Møller

Viggo Sten Møller was a Danish architect, writer, and critic who made significant contributions to the arts and crafts movement in Denmark. He was born on January 24, 1897, and passed away on November 26, 1990.

Møller studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts' School of Building Technology, after which he began designing for Anton Rosen from 1916 to 1920. He then worked for the navy's building department from 1920 to 1935. Møller had his own architectural practice during this time, and after 1935, he worked as a consultant architect for the New Carlsberg Glyptotek, where he designed new exhibition halls and reassembled the Etruscan collection.

Møller's work as an architect was not extensive, but he designed a number of excellent small houses in the Copenhagen area, as well as holiday homes for Dansk Folkeferie, including Middelfart holiday village together with Marinus Andersen.

However, Møller's main contribution was in the field of arts and crafts. From 1932 to 1953, he served as the editor of Nyt Tidsskrift for Kunstindustri (later renamed Dansk Kunsthaandværk) and fought for a sober and rational line in the applied arts, without underestimating the value of the exquisite individual product as a quality standard. Møller also helped lay the foundation for the heyday of Danish crafts in the 1950s through his work as a writer and critic, as well as his energetic management of the National Association of Danish Arts and Crafts' exhibition activities.

Møller was appointed honorary member of the National Association of Danish Arts and Crafts in 1953 in recognition of his efforts. From 1953 to 1967, he served as the head of the School of Arts and Crafts and worked for a freer and more creative education, laying the foundation for the school's later independence.

Møller was also a prolific writer and book organizer, authoring several publications, including Holmen's Building History in 1932, Henning Koppel in 1965, and the two-volume Danish Art Industry 1850-1950. In recognition of his work, Møller received the Swedish Society of Craftsmen's Great Medal in 1954, an honorary award from the Illum Foundation in 1967, the Medal of Craftsmanship in 1968, and the Carlsberg Memorial Scholarship in 1969.