Born in Ringe on the Danish island of Funen, Madsen was the son of farmer Niels Martin Madsen and his wife Karen Marie f. Andersen. After training as a cabinetmaker, he attended the Furniture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1940. Thereafter he worked with architects Kaare Klint and Arne Jacobsen until 1943.A Bender "Madsen A Bender", Kraks Blå Bog 1957. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
