Per Ekström, also Pehr or Peter (23 February 1844 – 21 January 1935) was a Swedish landscape painter, known for his atmospheric scenes with sunsets, in barren or deserted places.

Biography

Ekström was born in the small village Segerstad in the south easts part of the island Öland in Sweden. His father was a house painter. He took drawing lessons as a child, then studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts from 1865 to 1872, but was influenced by French painting rather than the prevailing Düsseldorf School. In 1876, thanks to the support of King Oscar II, he was able to go to Paris, where he lived until 1890. There, he came under the influence of the Barbizon School and

Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast o ...

. His first exhibit at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

was in 1878 and he won a gold medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The Exposition Universelle of 1889 () was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The ...

. After returning to Sweden, he lived in Öland, then Stockholm. On the advice of art collector and merchant

Pontus Fürstenberg Pontus Fürstenberg (4 October 1827 – 10 April 1902) was a Swedish art collector and merchant from a Jewish family. He was married to Göthilda Magnus. Background Pontus Fürstenberg was born at Östra Hamngatan 26, in Gothenburg, Sweden. ...

who was a major patron of the arts, he settled in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1891. He continued, however, to visit Öland every summer and opened a studio in Birger Jarls Bazar, one of Stockholm's first modern office buildings. As the 1890s progressed, he began to work in a style known as mood impressionism (). His favorite places for painting were Stockholms ström and

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

. His home was a meeting place for the local cultural and academic world; including the writer, August Bondeson and the painters,

Georg Georg may refer to: * Georg (film), ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also

* George (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

and Hanna Pauli. He also seems to have slowly become rather blasé regarding his work. In the Artists' Association (''

Konstnärsförbundet Konstnärsförbundet ('the Artists' Association') was an association of Swedish artists founded in 1886 in opposition to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. Background and members The association demanded reforms in the Academy's organizat ...

''), he was known as "Pekström" and, under criticism from

Karl Nordström Karl Fredrik Nordström (11 July 1855 – 16 August 1923) was a Swedish painter who specialized in landscapes. From 1896 to 1920, he was Chairman of the Association of Artists (Konstnärsförbundet). Biography His father was a police commissio ...

and

Nils Kreuger Nils Edvard Kreuger (11 October 1858 – 11 May 1930) was a Swedish painter. He specialized in landscapes and rural scenes.
from the ...

, his standing there diminished. His submission for the

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

was rejected by the jury. He served as inspiration for the painter, Sellén; a character in '' The Red Room'' by August Strindberg. The largest collection of his works may be seen at the

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...

, the

Göteborgs konstmuseum Gothenburg Museum of Art ( sv, Göteborgs konstmuseum) is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third largest art museum in Sweden by size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collect ...

and

Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde (Swedish for ''Cape Waldemar''), is a museum located on Djurgården in central Stockholm. The name is composed of Waldemar, an Old German noble male name, and udde, meaning cape. It is derived from a historical name o ...

. A street in

Södra Ängby Södra Ängby is a residential area blending functionalism with garden city ideals, located in western Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Bromma borough. Encompassing more than 500 buildings, it remains the largest coherent functionalistic ...

(Per Ekströms väg") is named after him. Until 2012, there was a privately owned Per Ekström Museum in the Kalmar Art Museum. The following year, it was moved into the old Orrefors glassworks building and expanded to include other artists. The Per Ekström Society () was founded in 2016 and chaired by the art historian, Ulf Abel.

Personal life

In 1904, he married Hanna Petronella Salomonsson, the daughter of a farmer in Alvesta. In 1910, they moved to the island of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

. He died in 1935 in the small town Mörbylånga on

Gallery

File:Solnedgång.jpg, ''Sunset'' (1904) File:Per Ekström-Franskt landskap.jpg, ''French landscape'' (1878) File:Gräsgård Church (Per Ekström) - Nationalmuseum - 20172.tif, ''Gräsgård Church'' (1922)

References

External links

Per Ekström museet
website

from the ''

Nordisk Familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' @

Project Runeberg Project Runeberg ( sv, Projekt Runeberg) is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded ...

Biography
@ the ''

Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

''
More works by Ekström
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekstrom, Per 1844 births 1935 deaths People from Öland Swedish landscape painters 19th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters 20th-century Swedish painters 19th-century Swedish male artists 20th-century Swedish male artists

Biography

Personal life

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links