Nationalmuseum has acquired a portrait of John Panzio Tockson by the artist and courtier Fritz von Dardel. Unlike many of Dardel’s other, more caricatured and stereotypical portrayals of King Karl XV’s valet, this pen-and-watercolour drawing is an unusually vivid depiction of Tockson as an individual. In the portrait he is wearing his distinctive red, oriental-style costume with a fez.
Nationalmuseum has acquired an example of the egg-shaped easy chair Ovalia designed by Henrik Thor-Larsen. The chair was a huge hit when it was launched at the Scandinavian Furniture Fair in 1968. The acquired chair is an early example, dating from the late 1960s.
This autumn, Nationalmuseum Design presents Embodied, an exhibition of works that challenge the conventional notion of craft. The exhibiting artists share an interest in the corporeal, often related to social issues such as identity, body image, objectification, and power structures. These works exist at the interface of outer and inner, of skin and organs.
Thanks to a generous donation, Nationalmuseum has been successful in its bid to purchase and repatriate four woven tapestries manufactured at Beauvais. Commissioned in 1695 by Carl Piper for his residence in Stockholm’s old town, the wall hangings are still in fabulous condition after spending over a century in Denmark and the United States.
Nationalmuseum has acquired three works by painters of the Dresden Romantic school: Fantasy of the Alps by Carl Gustav Carus, Oak and Birch by Carl Julius von Leypold and Dresden at Sunset by Knud Baade. .
Jewellery artist Märta Mattsson from Stockholm is the 2016 Young Applied Artists. Fascinated by the wonders of nature, she transforms dead animals and insects into jewellery pieces, giving new life to something that would otherwise moulder away. The award of SEK 100,000 from the Bengt Julin Fund, administered by the Friends of Nationalmuseum, will be presented at a ceremony on 14 November.
On Friday 3 June, Ingegerd Råman opens at Nationalmuseum Design. In this exhibition, one of Sweden’s most influential designers presents a personal selection of the projects and commissions she has worked on, with commentary in the form of sketches, videos and captions. The exhibition is coproduced with Vandalorum in Värnamo, where it will go on show this autumn.
Saturday 28 May will see the unveiling of the 2016 Portrait of Honour at Gripsholm Castle. This year it depicts Professor Barbro Osher, the Swedish Consul General in San Francisco and a generous philanthropist. The portrait was taken by Thron Ullberg, who faithfully captures both the model’s modest air and her work as a patron of the arts.
In celebration of Carl XVI Gustaf’s 70th birthday, the Friends of Nationalmuseum, Nationalmusei Vänner, has given the Swedish National Portrait Gallery at Gripsholm Castle a gift comprising eight portraits of H. M. the King and members of the royal family. The photographic portraits are by four renowned Swedish photographers: Dawid (Björn Dawidsson), Bruno Ehrs, Thron Ullberg and Mattias Edwall.
The Nationalmuseum has acquired a red-chalk figure study for a Hercules, in three-quarter-length from the 1640s by the Italian Baroque artist Guercino. The drawing that in the 18th century belonged to the Swedish diplomat and art collector Count Carl Gustaf Tessin has thus been reunited with the main part of his drawings collection in the museum’s holdings.
Continuing its programming on the theme of art jewellery, Nationalmuseum is presenting an exhibition titled The Jeweller’s Art at Läckö Castle this summer. On show will be some 300 pieces – tiaras, necklaces, brooches, snuff boxes, pocket watches and miniature portraits – dating from 1650 to the present day. The materials range from gold, pearls and diamonds to plastic, eggshell and perch skin.
Nationalmuseum has acquired a unique piece of art glass designed by Betzy Ählström. The Christmas Cactus vase was manufactured in 1902 at the Reijmyre glassworks where she was hired for a brief period. Ählström is now considered one of the female pioneers in the history of Swedish glassmaking and only a few works by her are known.
