Wilgot Lind - Retrospective

Wilgot Lind – A Tribute to a Swedish Modernist
Crafoord Auctions Stockholm presents a vibrant themed auction featuring nearly 50 works by Wilgot Lind (1915–1996), one of the early pioneers of Swedish abstract art.
Born in Lerum, Lind began painting as a teenager, with his first subjects depicting Gothenburg’s harbor. But it was a journey to Paris in 1948 that transformed his artistry. Inspired by modern abstract art and painters such as Manessier and Bazaine, he became one of the first to introduce abstract painting in Gothenburg. In 1950, his exhibition of abstract works at Galleri Aveny received glowing reviews.
After a period of illness, Lind found his true expression in gouache painting. He developed a personal and richly colored visual language that culminated in a noted exhibition at Galleri 54 (1962).
Though based in Gothenburg, Lind drew much inspiration from his summer house in Haverdal, where he lived for periods just a stone’s throw from the artists of the Halmstad Group. For 20 years, he held annual summer exhibitions in Haverdal and participated in prestigious group shows such as the Spring Salon at Liljevalchs, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and international exhibitions in New York, Zurich, and Wuppertal.
Lind’s production encompasses around 4,000 works – paintings, gouaches, watercolors, lacquer paintings, sculptures, and glass objects – many of which have never before been shown. His motifs range from figurative studies and landscapes to pure abstraction.
Wilgot Lind described his creative process as follows: “I get my inspiration from within and see myself merely as the instrument.”
His works are represented in some of the world’s most prestigious collections, including the Brooklyn Museum (New York), the British Museum (London), Wuppertal Museum (Germany), Gothenburg Museum of Art, Borås Museum of Art, and the collections of King Gustaf VI Adolf.
This auction offers a rare opportunity to discover, rediscover, and acquire works by an artist who helped shape the course of Swedish modernism.