Vagnby, Viggo

Biography in relation to Skagen

Viggo Vagnby was originally trained as a painter, but with the breakthrough of advertising agencies in the interwar period, he seized the opportunity and started his own design studio, first in Aalborg 1925-43, then in Copenhagen 1943-53 and finally in Skagen 1953-66.

Viggo Vagnby became particularly known for his tourist posters, for which he created some of the genre's masterpieces. (The Wonderful Copenhagen poster with the famous family of ducks crossing the street.) One of the reasons for the high advertising status of his posters was the quality of memory they possessed, thanks to the ambiguity of their motifs, familiar everyday situations combined with airiness, poetry and humour. In quantitative terms, Viggo Vagnby made his mark primarily in the post-war period.

In addition to his involvement with posters, he was also in demand as an exhibition organiser.

Villa Guldmaj

Villa Guldmaj was put up for sale in 2006 for a staggering DKK 50 million, and in 2018 for a staggering DKK 24 million. It was only sold in 2020 for a significantly lower price.

The asking price of DKK 50 million. However, the 50 DKK sale attracted a fantastic amount of publicity, as it was the most expensive summer house in Denmark.

A classic black and white wooden summer house over a hundred years old has, with a single signature on a purchase contract, rocketed into the top 10 of the country's currently most expensive summer houses. The summer house is situated on a very attractive plot in the middle of the dune landscape on Grenen, almost as far north as you can get in Denmark.

The exclusive summer house was sold for DKK 13.5 million, placing it eighth among the country's most expensive summer house deals in 2020.

The house has been owned by Danish designer and advertising artist Viggo Vagnby. He was behind several famous, classic Danish posters, such as the Wonderful Copenhagen poster with the policeman stopping traffic for a family of ducks. In 1996 Viggo Vagnby's widow, Maria Hellisen Vagnby, sold the house to the couple's three children, brothers Jes, Mads and Tavs Vagnby.

Luxury property

In return, the buyer gets what is popularly known as a "liebhaverejendom": a term for something that costs more because of its glorious value than common sense.

The DKK 50 million summer house is thus one of the most northerly houses in Denmark (number two or three), offering sea views at least 270 degrees around from the first floor.

And it was designed and built in 1911/1912 by architect Thorvald Jørgensen, who also designed Christiansborg.

The property's total living space, including attic and basement, is 289 square metres, while the land is 4,293 square metres and listed.

It can therefore be used for little else than the sure knowledge that you are safe from nosy neighbours.

- The summer house is simply expensive because it is so well located. You can't buy anything like it anywhere else in the country, and it may be years before it's put up for sale again.