# Grete Jalk artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/grete-jalk/
Profile generated: 2026-05-24T20:18:26.153Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Danish
- Movements: Danish Modern
- Common media: furniture

## About Grete Jalk

Grete Jalk (1920–2006) was a Danish furniture designer whose work helped define and extend the international reputation of mid-century Danish modern design. Active from the postwar period onward, she contributed furniture designs that emphasized clean lines, functional elegance, and the expressive use of wood—qualities central to the Scandinavian design ethos. Beyond her own practice, Jalk shaped the discourse of Danish design as editor of the magazine Mobilia and as the compiler of a landmark four-volume survey of Danish furniture. Her designs are represented in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and she is recognized in international authority files including the Getty Union List of Artist Names and the Virtual International Authority File.

## Common works and media

Chairs (including laminated and moulded plywood designs), lounge chairs, dining tables, desks, side tables, cabinets, and shelving units. Materials are typically oak, teak, beech, or moulded plywood. Works may bear manufacturer labels or stamps from Danish producers. Collectors may also encounter reissues and licensed reproductions alongside original mid-century production.

## Market and appraisal context

Grete Jalk's furniture appears at auction primarily within twentieth-century Design and Decorative Art categories. Works most commonly encountered include chairs, tables, and storage pieces in moulded plywood and solid wood. Value depends on attribution certainty (maker marks or documentation), original versus later production, materials, condition, and provenance. Pieces with clear manufacturer collaborations and documented exhibition history tend to command stronger results. Collectors should note that Jalk's designs were produced in series, so edition and production date are material factors. Consult current auction records for comparable lots before valuation.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines artist identity research from museum records, international authority files, and published references with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. For Grete Jalk, the identity profile draws on MoMA collection records, the Getty ULAN authority file, VIAF, Wikidata, and published encyclopedic sources.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4956242
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grete_Jalk
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500234729
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/172099315/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr95037988
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/8433