The Art Hotel

Carl Larsson
Carl Larsson (1853–1919), the forefather of classic family portraits, made Sweden and Dalarna world-renowned in artistic circles. Larsson is often associated with Sundborn, but he was born in Stockholm and moved both within Sweden and abroad. That is how he met his wife, Karin Larsson (1883–1919)—the couple met at an art school in Paris and eventually settled in Karin’s hometown of Sundborn, outside Falun. Many of Carl Larsson’s most famous watercolors depict children and families. These accessible subjects made him a beloved artist and a cultural icon whose farm in Sundborn, outside Falun, is a popular destination for both Swedish school groups and foreign tourists.

Bruno Liljefors
Bruno Liljefors (1860–1939) became one of Sweden’s most famous landscape painters. His paintings of birds, foxes, and hares in motion were groundbreaking compared to the static depictions of animals common at the time, and his artistic career took him to Düsseldorf, Gothenburg, and Copenhagen. Liljefors began his training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts’ preparatory school but dropped out after three years and instead began studying the animal painting that would become his signature style. He spent a great deal of time at his hunting lodge in the Stockholm archipelago, where he could observe birds up close, which broadened his knowledge of the animals and made him internationally renowned.

Jenny Nyström
Anyone who has ever seen a picture of Santa Claus in Sweden has most likely encountered a work by Jenny Nyström (1854–1946). She began her career as an oil painter at an early age (at just fifteen!), went on to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and was the first woman to win the academy’s competition, which earned her a scholarship for a stay in Paris.Nyström’s distinctive and idyllic illustrations of elves began appearing in books by Viktor Rydberg and the Brothers Grimm and eventually became her most recognizable hallmark. Today, the books and postcards featuring Nyström’s elf motifs have been joined by everything from porcelain to textiles.

Bengt Lindström
One of our more contemporary artists is Bengt Lindström (1925–2008), whose distinctive, colorful paintings are featured in public spaces. Lindström was born in Sundsvall and returned to his hometown after studying art in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Chicago. His work is characterized by strong, vivid colors and broad brushstrokes that often depict distorted faces. Bengt Lindström has created a great deal of public art that can be viewed on industrial buildings, among other places. Examples include the sculpture Y outside Sundsvall-Timrå Airport, paintings on a hydroelectric power plant in Jokkmokk, and a large silo in Örebro.

Peter Dahl
Peter Dahl (1934–2019) was born in Norway but moved to Bromma in Stockholm at an early age. He became a teacher at both the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm and Valand Academy of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, and became known for his distinctive works: His painting “The Breakthrough of Liberalism in Society” was reported to the police and confiscated in 1970, but Dahl gained popularity through his illustrations of Bellman’s 87 “Epistles of Fredman.” Dahl had studios in both Aspudden and Norr Mälarstrand in Stockholm, and in 2006 he was awarded the royal medal Illis quorom.