Ester Laura Matilda Claesson (7 June 1884 – 12 November 1931) was a Swedish landscaping pioneer and is considered the first female

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

in Sweden.

Biography

Karlfeldtsgården Sångs Ester Claesson 1927

Claesson finished her secondary school in Stockholm in 1900, a time when there were no academically trained female landscape architects in Sweden. There were women gardening practitioners, but mainly those who already owned a garden of their own. Those who wanted a professional education had to go abroad, usually Denmark, England or Germany. As Claesson was interested in gardening and architecture, she worked as a gardener on a farm in Tomarp,

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

. She later continued her education in Denmark, graduating in 1903 from Havebrugs Höjeskole in Charlottenlund. After graduation, Claesson worked as a landscape architect for

Paul Schultze-Naumburg Paul Schultze-Naumburg (10 June 1869 – 19 May 1949) was a German traditionalist architect, painter, publicist and author. A leading critic of modern architecture, he joined the NSDAP in 1930 (aged 61) and became an important advocate of Naz ...

in Germany, and for the architect Joseph Maria Olbrich in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in Austria. Claesson's most important work at Darmstadt was a terrace with a rose garden, from a mission made by Joseph Maria Olbrich's influential costumer Julius Glückert, who owned a furniture factory in the city. In 1907, the women-oriented weekly magazine '' Idun'' declared Claesson Sweden's first female landscape architect, and her artistic work was further celebrated by the magazines ''Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration'' in 1907 and '' The Studio'' in 1912. In 1913, Claesson returned to Sweden and worked as an architect with

Isak Gustaf Clason Isak Gustaf Clason (30 July 1856 Falun – 19 July 1930 Rättvik) was a Swedish architect. Biography Clason studied engineering and later architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he was a student of Albert T ...

. She soon started her own business and introduced Olbrich's ideas to Sweden. She took her influences mainly from the English Arts and Crafts movement. Her gardening was influenced by architectural elements. She gained note as a landscape architect and established a co-operation with landscape architects

Carl Westman Ernst Carl Westman (20 February 1866 – 23 January 1936) was a Swedish architect and interior designer. He was an early adopter of the National Romantic Style, but turned later to the neo-classical style of the 1920s. Biography Carl Westman ...

, Isak Gustaf Clason and

Ivar Tengbom Ivar Justus Tengbom (April 7, 1878 – August 6, 1968) was a Swedish architect and one of the best-known representatives of the Swedish neo-classical architecture of the 1910s and 1920s. Tengbom was born in Vireda in Jönköping County, stu ...

. During the first decade of the 1900s, she was the best-known and most-published landscape architect in Sweden. In 1918, Claesson worked as a landscape architect at Villa Brevik in

Lidingö Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It is ...

, just north of Stockholm. Through her work there she made contact with Erik Axel Karlfeldt, who lived nearby and in 1921 Claesson designed the garden for Karlfeldtsgården (the Karlfeldt summer residence), north of Leksand, which still exists. Claesson died at age 47, reportedly by a gunshot to the heart, and was buried on 22 November 1931 at Norra begravningsplatsen. Claesson teckning 1912.JPG, Terrasserad trädgård in ''The Studio'', 1912 Ester Claesson Idun 1917a.JPG, Garden wall with the terrace in ''Idun'', 1907 Ester Claesson Idun 1917b.JPG, Garden gates in ''Idun'', 1907 Ester Claesson Idun 1917c.JPG, Garden bench in ''Idun'', 1907

Work

In 1914, Claesson and Harald Wadsjö participated in the gardening competition at Skogskyrkogården in Stockholm. Their joint exhibition Cumulus received the third prize. That a woman had received the third prize became noted in Germany. Claesson's other noted works include her garden at Ingelsta gård in 1917, at Adelsnäs in 1916–20 and the Röda Bergen garden in the Humleboet in 1925. Claesson and Karlfeldt created a garden together at Karlfeldtsgården Sång with terraces looking on Lake Opplimen. This garden is Claesson's only landscape work that remains in its original state. Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015e.jpg Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015f.jpg Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015g.jpg Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015h.jpg

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claesson, Ester 1884 births 1931 deaths Swedish landscape architects Women landscape architects Deaths by firearm in Sweden Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen 20th-century Swedish women artists 20th-century Swedish artists

Biography

Work

References

Further reading

External links