Eric Grate (August 14, 1896 – August 3, 1983) was a Swedish sculptor, painter and graphics artist.

Education

Eric Grate studied at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in Stockholm between 1917 and 1920. Thereafter he undertook study trips to Germany, especially to Munich, and to Italy and Greece. He moved to Paris in 1924 and stayed there for ten years. In France he lived in the companionship of a number of other Swedish artists, including

Nils Dardel Nils Dardel (full name Nils Elias Kristofer von Dardel, sometimes known as ''Nils de Dardel'') was a 20th-century Swedish Post-Impressionist painter, grandson to famous Swedish painter Fritz von Dardel. Biography Dardel was born in Bettna, S ...

Isaac Grünewald Isaac Grünewald (2 September 1889 – 22 May 1946) was a Swedish-Jewish expressionist painter born in Stockholm. He was the leading and central name in the first generation of Swedish modernists from 1910 up until his death in 1946, in other ...

Sigrid Hjertén Sigrid Hjertén (27 October 1885 – 24 March 1948) was a Swedish modernist painter. Hjertén is considered a major figure in Swedish modernism. Periodically she was highly productive and participated in 106 exhibitions. She worked as an artist ...

, Otto G. Carlsund and

Otte Sköld Otte is a surname and given name. Notable persons with that name include: Given name *Otte Brahe (1518–1571), Danish (Scanian) nobleman and statesman *Otte Krumpen (1473–1569), Marshal of Denmark from 1554 to 1567 * Otte Rømer (c.1330–1409), ...

. Between 1941 and 1951 he was a professor at the wedishRoyal Academy of Arts. Grate has been commissioned for at great number of public works of art in Sweden. The most famous of its time was ''The Etymological Woman Theft'' which was erected outside the premises of

Karolinska Institutet The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consiste ...

in Solna, a suburb of Stockholm, towards the end of the 1950s. This heralded the start of one of the fiercest public debates about the arts in Sweden during the 20th century. The majority of the faculty of the Institute protested against the sculpture as indecent and against the ethics of medicine. The controversy was not resolved until a decision by the Swedish Superior Court of Administrative Matters was taken in favour of the sculpture.

Public works of art

*''The Urn of the Mines district'' iron ore 109 cm in height (1921–22), Gothenburg. This urn was manufactured by Näfvekvarns bruk (Näfvekvarn Iron Works) in a series and has been purchased by a number of Swedish museums *''Faunfigur'', ''Faun figure'' (1923), Hotel Liseberg, Gothenburg *Statues at the Norra Kungstornet Building (1925), Kungsgatan in Stockholm *Relief above the entrance of the Art Exhibition Building in Falun (1936) *''Folkvisan'', ''The Folk song'' (1937), Bromma High School in Stockholm, Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg,

Bäckängsgymnasiet Bäckängsgymnasiet is a gymnasium in Borås, Sweden that offers university preparatory programs in natural and social sciences, art and humanities. The school was founded in 1901 as "Högre allmänna läroverket i Borås", which can be translat ...

in Borås *''Årstiderna'', ''The Seasons'' limestone (1937–41), Rosenbad (The Government Chancellery), Stockholm *''Folket och tekniken'', ''The People and the Technology'', part of a relief in chamotte clay (1937), decoration for the World Exhibition in Paris 1937, Runö Training Centre, Åkersberga *''De fyra vindarna'', ''The Four Winds'' (1937–41), four reliefs at front of the extension of the City Hall of Gothenburg by

Gunnar Asplund Erik Gunnar Asplund (22 September 1885 – 20 October 1940) was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s, and during the last decade of his life as a major proponent of the modernist style whi ...

*''Badet'', ''The Bath'' and ''Nereid'' two reliefs in terracotta (1943), The City Swimming Hall of Trelleborg *''Sommaren'', ''The Summer'' or ''Ung man'', ''Young Man'' granite 224 cm in height (1944), Lundby, Gothenburg *''Våren'', ''The Spring'' bronze 125 cm in height (1944), Härlanda, Gothenburg and Museum Park in Alingsås *''Anadyomene'' (1947–52), Hudiksvall *''Förvandlingarnas brunn'', ''The Fountain of Transformation'', granite (1943–55), the Marabou Park in Sundbyberg *''Navigare necesse est'' bronze 1953, Rödaberg Primary School, Stockholm *''Liggande kvinna'', ''Declining Woman'' (ca 1954) bronze in a fountain, Västertorp Centre, Stockholm *''Trädet'', ''The Tree'' (ca 1954) bronze, Västertorp Centre, Stockholm *''Två dansande''. ''Two Dancers'' (1955), Byttorpskolan (school) in Borås *''Vindarnas grotta'', ''Cave of the Winds'' (1960–71), outside the City Hall of

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

by Sven Ahlbom *''Monument över Yxman'', ''Monument over an Axe Man'' bronze 3.5 m in height (raised 1967), Rålambshov Park, Stockholm. A replica in a minor format is situated at Blockhusudden at Djurgården in Stockholm *''Gudinna vid hyperboreiskt hav'', ''Goddess by an Hyperborean Sea'' granite in a fountain 4 m long (1949–56), City Hall Square in Gävle. *''Entomologiskt kvinnorov'', ''Entomological Raping'' bronze (1956–58), Royal Institute of Medicine, Solna *''Snäckfågel'', ''Shell Bird'' bronze 255 cm in height (1960–61), outside Hotel Opalen, Gothenburg and the Central Square in Eslöv *''Silvatica'' bronze, the Esplanade in Nässjö *''Nike från Sant Andria'', ''Nike from Sant Andria'' bronze 206 cm in height (1967–68), outside the Public Library in Norrköping *''Sparvguden'', ''The God of Sparrows'' (1972–73), Eric Grate's Park outside the City Hall of Solna *''Hjärtblad'' (1974), ''Cotyledones'', outside the Regional Council Headquarters Building in Kristianstad

External links

Eric Grate's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grate, Eric 1896 births 1983 deaths Grate Eric Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal 20th-century Swedish sculptors

Education

Public works of art

Further reading

External links