artist: Fritz Sjöström (Swedish 1923-1996)
medium: oil on canvas
dimensions: 55 1/2 x 38 cm canvas size / 66 1/2 x 49 1/2 cm framed size (approx)
signed and dated 57
presented in its original frame
AU $1100 (approx US $615 / 520 EUROS / 65,500 yen / 465 GBP - for exact current conversion visit xe.com)
artist biography
Fritz Lennart Sjöström was born on 23 March 1923 in Kiruna, northern Sweden. He was Swedish painter, sculptor, illustrator, song composer and singer-songwriter.
Sjöström studied painting at the Valand School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg between 1941 and 1945 under Nils Nilsson, and continued at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm from 1945 to 1950, where his teachers included Fritiof Schüldt, Arvid Fougstedt and Ragnar Sandberg. His artistic development was enriched by extensive travels, including a European study trip in 1948, a longer stay in Paris in 1951, and later visits to Bornholm (1952) and Greece (1966).
He first exhibited in Kiruna in 1944, followed by numerous solo exhibitions across Sweden: Malmberget (1951), Stockholm’s Lilla Galleriet (1958), Malmö’s Lilla Konstsalongen (1958), Kiruna Konstgille (1959), Kristinehamn (1964), Uppsala (1965), Luleå’s Norrbotten Museum (1965), and Stockholm’s Konstfack School of Arts (1965). He also contributed to the Norrbotten Museum’s travelling exhibition featuring his preparatory work for a mural in Luleå City Library.
In addition to his solo exhibitions, Sjöström participated in many group shows, including Unga Tecknare at Stockholm’s Nationalmuseum (1945–1954), Velamson’s Gallery (1952), and exhibitions organised by the Swedish General Art Association, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (1955, 1962, 1964), Konstfrämjandet and ABF’s touring exhibition Art in Public Space (1964), as well as regional presentations including13 Artists from Norrbotten (1955) and 20 Painters from Norrland (1964).
Sjöström’s public works include stained-glass windows for St Mikael’s Chapel in Mora (1954), enamelled iron sculpture for Västerort Church in Vällingby (1956), a copper gate for Vantör Church (1959), and murals for Hinseberg Women’s Prison in Frövi (1961) and Luleå City Library (1964). He also created sculptural and architectural commissions for Kristinehamn Mission Church (1964), Sandviken Mission Church (1964), and Örebro YMCA (1965), as well as decorative reliefs and intarsia works for several public buildings in Stockholm, including Svenska Handelsbanken (1961) and Försäkringsbolaget Valand (1962).
Alongside his visual art, Sjöström illustrated a number of books, including Sjung barn by Anders Frostenson (1958), Som liljorna på marken by Gunnar Edman (1958), Narren i katedralen by Essie Sahlin (1959), Visor till Katarina (1955), Strandbok (1964, text by Lennart Hellsing), and Visor i närheten (1965).
His work is represented in the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Archive for Decorative Art in Lund, and the Norrbotten Museum in Luleå, as well as in the collections of His Majesty the King of Sweden.
Sjöström received numerous awards, including a grant from the Royal Fund (1958) and the Deverthska Cultural Foundation Scholarship (1964). He won first prizes in several major architectural competitions, among them the redesign of Stortorget in Örebro (1964), Norrfjärden Church (1965), and N:a Tynnered in Gothenburg (1966).
His art and public commissions have been discussed in publications such as Britt Isaksson’s Norrbottenskonstnärer (1963) and Harold E. Wagoner’s Protestant Church Buildings and Equipment: An On-Site Look at Europe’s New Churches (1962).
In addition to his fine art he was also a successful musician. In 1951 he went to Paris for further studies. During this period, Christian Bratt began singing his ballads on the radio, and a 78-inch record was released with the ballads Parispromenaden and Grönöga . In 1955, the ballad collection Visor till Katarina was released, as well as an EP of the same name with vocals by Sjöström himself. In 1962, Spegelvisor came out , and in 1964, a new edition of Visor till Katarina. Visor i sähtää was released in 1965, along with an LP with Fred Åkerström and Bengt Hallberg. Vattenvisor med motifs från Fårö is available as a printed ballad collection and on an LP with vocals by himself. In 1973, a "ballad opera" by Sjöström, called Spel i pupill , was performed at Dramatens Målarsalen , which was based on both older and newly written ballads.
He passed away at the age of 72 on February 12, 1996.