Ulla Engeberg Killias (1945–1995) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-born

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

who lived in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for most of her adult life.

Life and work

Killias was born in Stockholm, Sweden, where she also earned her

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

in painting and drawing. She first moved to Switzerland in 1965, when she began her studies at the University of Zurich. She stayed there until 1975, studying art history and German studies, and completing an internship in the field of

child psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult developmen ...

. She married Heinrich Sattler, adopted two children, and moved to

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

, where she assumed the position of senior teacher at a children's therapeutic center. She also continued to study drawing and painting. After her divorce from Heinrich Sattler in 1977, she married Heinz Killias and lived with him at his home in

Bilten Bilten is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Bilten is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord. History Bilten is first mentioned in 1050 as ''Billitun''. Geography Bilten has an ...

. Here she worked as a freelance artist on the restoration of historic buildings. In 1985 she was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. In 1986, she was invited to participate in a touring exhibition in Denmark called "4 Swiss artists." In 1988, she designed the set for the production of the opera ''Ondine'' by ETA Hoffmann in

Mitlödi Mitlödi is a village, and former municipality, in the municipality of Glarus Süd and canton of Glarus in Switzerland. History Mitlödi is first mentioned in 1320 as ''Mitlodi''. The coat of arms was officially adopted in 1939. It displays a s ...

. That same year she opened a painting studio for children, young people, and adults in

Netstal Netstal is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Glarus (canton), Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Netstal is part of the municipality of Glarus. History Netstal is first ...

. In 1990 she earned her diploma as a painting teacher from the Institute for Humanistic Art Therapy in Zurich. She opened a second art studio, for students and teachers, in

Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus ...

. In 1992 she launched a program for art therapy for cancer patients in collaboration with the Cancer League of Glarus. That same year she suffered a relapse of leukemia, but opened yet another painting studio in Zurich - with Evi Forgo. Her last solo exhibition was in 1994 in Seon. Her last travels took her to

El Hierro El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populatio ...

and

Castagneto Carducci Castagneto Carducci () is a (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Livorno. It is named after the poet Giosuè Carducci, who spent there some ...

. She is buried in Glarus's city cemetery.

References

* ''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.'' 1945 births 1995 deaths Swiss women painters 20th-century Swedish women artists 20th-century Swiss painters {{Switzerland-painter-stub