Per Leander Engström, sometimes denoted as The Elder (27 February 1886 – 6 February 1927) was a Swedish painter. He specialized in portraits and colorful wilderness scenes in the

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

style.

Biography

Engström was born in 1886 in

Ytterhogdal Ytterhogdal () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Härjedalen Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 534 inhabitants in 2010. Being located in the province of Hälsingland, the village has connections to three provinces due to th ...

, Sweden. After attending the elementary school in Ljustorp, his family moved to

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...

, where he worked in a sawmill until he was fourteen. In 1901, he became an assistant at the local newspaper and joined a group of amateur artists headed by Helmer Osslund. Thanks to financial support 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 commissi ...

, he was able to begin studies at the Artist's Association School ( Konstnärförbundets skola), from 1907 to 1908, then went to Paris, where he took lessons from

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

. He remained there until 1912. Back in Sweden, he was one of the first members of a short-lived group called "" (The Young), which applied Expressionist techniques to Swedish motifs. In 1914, he had a successful showing at the

Baltic Exhibition The Baltic Exhibition () was held in Malmö, Sweden from 15 May to 4 October 1914. (The official closing date, September 30, was later extended by four days, as permitted in the general rules.) A Swedish world's fair The event showcased the indust ...

. For much of his life, he travelled through the mountains of

Norrland Norrland (, , originally ''Norrlanden'', meaning 'the Northlands') is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administrative p ...

, painting en

plein aire ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

. He built a small house in

Abisko Abisko (; ) is a village in Sápmi (Lapland (Sweden), Lapland), in northern Sweden, roughly 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, and near Abisko National Park, located 4 km west of the village. It had 85 inhabitants as of 2005. Permafr ...

, one of his favorite locations. During the 1920s, he spent time in Italy: living in Florence from 1920 to 1923. In between, he created paintings on the ceiling of the , an early movie theater in Stockholm. In 1913, he married Maria Edlund and, the following year, had twin sons, and , who both became painters. He died at the age of forty-one in Stockholm, after a long period of poor health, and was buried at the

Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects th ...

, south of Stockholm. His works may be seen at the

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in Malmö. History The museum opened in Stockh ...

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde Prince Eugene's Waldemarsudde () is a museum located on Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was formerly the home of Prince Eugen (1865-1947), a Swedish prince, painter and art collector. The museum houses Prince Eugen's extensive art coll ...

, and the

Gothenburg Museum of Art Gothenburg Museum of Art () is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third-largest art museum in Sweden by the size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collection of late 19th-cen ...

.Göteborgs konstmuseum
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Selected paintings

Leander Engström laplander1916.jpg, Lapplander Leander Engström Orchard with workers and mountain.jpg, Orchard with Workers Leander Engström The house on the cliff 1916.jpg, The House on the Cliff Leander Engström - Den givmilde gossen.jpg, The Devout Boy Leander Engström Girl with book.jpg, Girl with Book

References

Other sources

*''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

s årsbok - 1927'', red. Erik Rudberg & Edvin Hellblom, Åhlén & Åkerlunds Boktryckeri, Stockholm 1928 pg.242 *''Sveriges befolkning 1900'', (CD-ROM version 1.02) Sveriges Släktforskarförbund, 2006

External links

Biography
from the '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon''
More works by Engström
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Engstrom, Leander 1886 births 1927 deaths Swedish painters Swedish landscape painters Swedish portrait painters Expressionist painters Burials at Skogskyrkogården People from Härjedalen Municipality