Göran Schildt (11 March 1917 – 24 January 2009) was a Finnish Swede author and art historian. He was the son of the author Runar Schildt.

Life and work

Schildt is perhaps best known for his travelogues with the sailboat ''Daphne''. He made the decision to become a Mediterranean sailor after being seriously injured during the

Finnish Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

and forced to spend a year and a half in hospital. "Then I thought that if I can do this, I will realize my dream: I will get a boat and sail around all corners of the Mediterranean," he later said. The architect Alvar Aalto was one of the guests at ''Daphne'' and their lifelong friendship was the basis for Schildt's masterpiece, the three-part biography of Aalto. Schildt went to school at the in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. He received his doctorate in philosophy with a dissertation on the painter Cezanne and also studied languages at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris. He moved to Sweden in 1945 and was an employee of Svenska Dagbladet 1951–1990. He was offered an art professorship at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

, but chose to continue as a writer. Göran Schildt lived in Villa Skeppet in Ekenäs in Finland and in ''Villa Kolkis'' on the island of

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...

in Greece. He was married in 1941–1964 to the glass artist Mona Morales-Schildt and from 1966 to Christine Schildt, born Werthmann (1940–).

Publications

Schildt has written at least 30 publications in Swedish.

Awards and recognition

Person has received the following awards and recognition: * 1950 – * 1952 – * 1981 – Svenska Akademiens Finlandspris * 1991 – * 2000 – Member of

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schildt, Göran 1917 births 2009 deaths Writers from Helsinki Finnish writers in Swedish Writers from Uusimaa 20th-century Finnish novelists Swedish-speaking Finns