Helena "Lena" Börjeson (13 October 1879 – 14 April 1976) was a Swedish sculptor, writer, art dealer, and the founding director of two arts school. In 1916, she moved to Paris to opened the art gallery Maison Watteau, and she became the director of the associated art school Académie Scandinave in Paris.

Early life and family

Helena "Lena" Börjeson was born on 13 October 1879, in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was the daughter of Louise Frederikke Anna-Mathea (Vitté) Bartholin, a Danish aristocrat, and Johan Laurentius Helenus Börjeson, a professor of sculpture at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

in Stockholm. Of five siblings, two of her brothers were visual artists, (1877–1945) and (1881–1958). She created small statues in her early career, some of which were sold at Herman Bergman Konstgjuteri AB. In 1916 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she traveled to Paris where two of her brothers were living. She remained in Paris throughout the war, where she met Swedish artist Ivan Lönnberg, a volunteer in the French army. They dated until his death in April 1918 in the war, she was pregnant when he died and lost their child.

Career

In 1919, she started researching a meeting-place for visiting Swedish artists in Paris, backed by art dealer, Gösta Olsson; businessperson and director of Tändstickbolaget, Gunnar Cederschiöld; and Swedish ambassador Johan Ehrensvärd. She founded Maison Watteau in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

, named after the eighteenth-century artist

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised 10 October 1684died 18 July 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French Painting, painter and Drawing, draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour ...

. The goal of Maison Watteau was to sell Nordic artists work in Paris, an atelier, and for a social artists’ club. In 1923, the first exhibition took place. The building was named L’Association des Artistes Scandinaves, which was restructured as Académie Scandinave. Börjeson became the director of the art school Académie Scandinave, which was active from 1919 until 1935. By 1924 many noted French artists were hired at the school as teachers, including

Paul Cornet Paul Cornet (18 March 1892 – 10 April 1977) was a French sculptor, painter, and teacher. He was known for his statues, nudes sculptures, busts, and monuments. He taught at the Académie Scandinave in Paris for many years. Early life, and edu ...

Louis Dejean Louis Dejean (June 9, 1872 in Paris – January 6, 1953 in Paris), was a French sculptor and engraver. He worked in the workshop of Gaston Schnegg, along with Antoine Bourdelle, Charles Despiau, Robert Wlérick, Léon-Ernest Drivier, François ...

Charles Dufresne Georges-Charles Dufresne (23 November 1876, Millemont - 8 August 1938, La Seyne-sur-Mer) was a French painter, engraver, sculptor and decorator. Biography He came from a family of sailors and fishermen that originated in Granville. He lef ...

, Marcel Gromaire, and Charles Despiau. Support for the school ended in 1935, while Börjeson was vacationing in Sweden for the summer. She was left without a role, and no salary, and as result she remained in Sweden. In her autobiography, ''Mitt livs lapptäcka'' (1957), she described in detail her time in Paris. After returning to Sweden, she founded Lena Börjeson's Sculpture School () in Stockholm in 1940. She died on 14 April 1976, in Stockholm. Her artwork can be found in the public collection at the

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 ...

in Stockholm.

Publications

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Börjeson, Lena 1879 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Swedish artists Artists from Paris Sculptors from Stockholm Swedish art educators Swedish emigrants to France Swedish people of Danish descent Swedish sculptors Swedish women sculptors French art dealers French art educators