Arthur Sjögren was a visual artist and illustrator born  in 1874 in Stockholm. His parents were a wood merchant Anders Lorens Sjögren and Carin Jonsdtr. He first attended the School of Technology in Stockholm as a draftsmanm amd later at I.G. Clason's architect's office from 1890–1893. He began his art education at the Swedish Artists' Association's painting school in 1893 where he studied Japanese colored woodcuts with Ivan Aguéli. During this period, he also worked as an assistant to artist Agi Lindegren in the decoration of Uppsala Cathedral.

     He first appeared as a visual artist with, "Afternoon Sun", but later devoted himself mostly to the art of illustration. In the late 1890s he produced advertisements for Swedish companies in the Art Nouveau style making him one of the pioneers of this field in Sweden. In 1895 he created a series of advertisements for Stora Bryggeriets öl (Great Brewery's Beer) that were reminiscent of works by the French master Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

     In 1900 the brothers Carl and Hugo Lagerström began publishing the magazine Nordisk boktrykarekonst (Nordic printing art), and Sjögren worked both as a writer and cartoonist. Around this time he also started working on book designs, and it is as a book artist that he is best known. His way of combining new artistic currents with his own requirements for uniformity in typography and image made him an innovator in Swedish book art.
    Sjögren's most prominent author acquaintance was August Strindberg. Their collaboration began with the book Sveriges natur (1901) and the stage decorations for the play Svanevit the same year. After that, Sjögren was responsible for covers, illustrations and graphic design for most of Strindberg's remaining works. Other works illustrated by Sjögren include The Brothers Grimm (1905), Sveriges constitutionar (1910) and an edition of Johan Henric Kellgren's play Gustaf Wasa (1912). He also published his own collection of poems, and was one of the founders of the Michaelis Guild.
    From the 1910s onwards, Sjögren became increasingly focused on research in, among other things, book history, exlibris and authorship. Between 1911 and 1917 he published the magazine Svensk exlibris-tidskrift and also published articles and writings in book history topics. A bibliography of his published writings was published in 1919.
    At the National Museum in Stockholm a special exhibition of Sjögren's work was held in 1944 which included an extensive exhibition catalog.  He is represented in the National Museum in Stockholm, the Royal Library in Stockholm, and Uppsala University Library.

Title:

"Summer Landscape"

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Artist:

Arthur Sjögren (1874–1951)

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Type:

Oil on canvas

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Size:

57 x 81 cm

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Signed:

Lower left (monogram)

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RHA I.D.#:

RHA-03/2016-096

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Status:

Available for lending to qualified institutions

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Provenance:

Bukowskis, Stockholm March 2016, Lot 775235

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Dedication on reverse,
“To the Swedish Theatre Association, with regards from (artist monogram).”

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