Female Artists - Famous & Forgotten VIII

The collection being auctioned at Crafoord Auktioner Stockholm features both well-known and, importantly, long-forgotten Swedish female artists, primarily active during the first half of the 20th century. All of them were independent artists who, during their lifetimes, did not receive the recognition they deserved.
The auction presents nearly 200 works by over 100 artists across various mediums, offering a journey through art history—from the late 19th century up to the present day.
Among the more recognized names are Agda Holst, Ruth Milles, Greta Gerell, Linn Fernström, Josefina Holmlund, Marie-Louise Ekman De Geer, Eddie Figge, Ellen Trotzig, and Tora Vega Holmström. The collection also highlights lesser-known and rarely seen artists, including an early work by Moki Cherry from 1969, Regina Kylberg-Bobeck, Märtha Gahn’s vibrant watercolors, an enamel painting by Maria Cyrenius, and Florence Regnier-Barral’s monumental sculpture, with provenance from Galerie Bonnier, Geneva.
Auction highlights include 11 delicate paintings by Vera Frisén, often called “A Swedish Schjerfbeck,” four graphic works including a Slussen motif, and an original by Mona Huss Wallin, as well as Alice Nordin’s sculpted bronze inkwell Urnan. Additionally, Sonia Delaunay’s signed color lithograph Sputnik, from a limited edition of 75, stands out as extraordinary.
A key exhibition for female artists was Liljevalchs’ De drogo till Paris in 1988, which highlighted Nordic painting from the 1880s. A total of 250 works were displayed, including pieces by Hanna Pauli and Helene Schjerfbeck. A common factor among these artists was Paris in the 1880s, where women could study and live under freer conditions than in their home countries. The exhibition was one of the decade’s major public successes.
The current auction also includes later generations of female artists who studied in the Paris art metropolis, such as Agda Holst, Maj Bring, Greta Gerell, Brita Nordencreutz, Birgit Forssell, Jane Gumpert, Hilda Heyman, and Asta Lindholm Witkowsky—students of Henri Matisse, André Lhote, or Fernand Léger.
In recent years, significant efforts have been made to highlight important female artists. These initiatives have resulted in Sigrid Hjertén, Vera Nilsson, Siri Derkert, and others being recognized today on par with their male contemporaries. A major project was Moderna Museet’s The Other Wish Museum (2006–2009), which aimed to complement the collection with works by female artists, primarily from the first half of the 20th century. The museum acquired, among other works, Tora Vega Holmström’s Främlingar. Major exhibitions have also showcased previously neglected artists such as Julia Beck, Eva Bonnier, and Hilma af Klint.
Piece by piece, the history of art is being set right. Talents that were overshadowed due to societal norms are now coming to light. There is still much work to do and more to discover, and we hope this thematic auction contributes to that effort.