Birger Carlstedt

With the support of rich parents, Carlstedt was able to travel around Europe and visit the Bauhaus and De Stijl groups to study their visual arts and architecture.

As a student, Carlstedt already belonged to the relatively small group of artists who were constantly open to new influences and experimented with new forms of expression.

His most notable interior design was the Le Chat Doré cafe in Helsinki (1929), which was Parisian in style, with references to Art Deco.

Carlstedt drew inspiration from the café L’ Aubette in Strasbourg, which was styled by Theo van Doesburg, Jean (Hans) Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp in 1926–1928.

Carlstedt was married three times: first to Ingegärd Jacquette af Forselles in 1932; then to Inga Hjördis Beatrice Roos in 1941 and finally to the pianist France Ellegaard in 1949.

2019 Reconstruction of Carlstedt's Le Chat Doré cafe, Helsinki, 1929