ARTISTS’ HOUSES

Much of what we love in Swedish art and literature today saw its first light around the turn of the century. This was a period when material wealth produced some of the country's finest artists in all categories. This was when poet Werner von Heidenstam and author Selma Lagerlöf penned their most memorable lines and radical writer Ellen Key wrote about her hopes for the dawn of a new age for women, children and the individual. Painters Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson were hailed around the world and in Sweden the painting Prince Eugen collected the best of what must be called Sweden's golden age. There were of course many other fantastic painters, sculptors and writers during this period, but the six named here distinguished themselves by also creating personal and very individual homes that we can visit and be inspired by to this day. These homes do not only give us an opportunity to captivate the lives of the people who have lived in them, they are also a neat way of picking up some interior decorating tips.

ZORNGÅRDEN
Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is one of Sweden's foremost artists who also attained international success. Born out of wedlock on his grandfather's farm in 0 Mora in the folkloristic province of Dalarna, he returned here a rich man to build Zorngården. He bought the best city lot for 550 kronor and built his manor (on the left) in a Viking style of his own. The large room where he received guests would feel like a church hall were it not for the billiard table and the many antiques Zorn brought home from all over the world. In the kitchen there is an early AGA stove and a grill from Paris that has a bell that sounds when the meat is ready. You can also see the hot water tank Zorn took with him from the world exposition in Chicago 1893, where he was the Swedish commissioner, together with a sheet of stainless steel that a local blacksmith banged into a wash basin. Zorn's phone with the number 4 was installed in 1911. The boat hull on the bedroom (below) wall is a model of Anders Zorn's beloved yacht that he spent all summer on.
The whole house is full of quaint details, like the wardrobe with a heater so that the guests' coats would be warm when they walked out into the evening chill. Everything still looks like it did on the day Emma Zorn, who survived her husband, left it when she died in 1942. The childless couple donated the manor, the Gammelgård open air museum with 40 of Zorn's folkloristic houses and art collection now housed in the Zorn Museum to the town of Mora.

ÖVRALID
Werner von Heidenstam (1859-1940) was an aristocrat and a poet who received the Nobel Prize in Literature. A tall romantic, he became Sweden's "national poet", writing many historic poems that older generations could recite by heart. His books "Karolinerna" about Charles XII's soldiers helped define the way Swedes liked to think of themselves.
Von Heidenstam was born on an estate at the north end of 0 Lake Vättern and remained in the area most of his life. Always surrounded by women, he was married three times. His last wife was the 17-year-old Greta S jöberg with whom he moved to the Nädd6 estate near Vadstena. When this marriage broke down, he moved up to the woods where he constructed his knights castle (above) Övralid with a formidable view over Lake Vättern. He planned the stark white building himself and moved there in 1925. His last love Kate Bang also moved in with him. Today Werner von Heidenstam rests in a simple but imposing tomb in front of the building. His mother and his first wife, who never gave up hope of his returning, have their graves nearby. Each year on the poet's birthday, July 6, there is a memorial ceremony at Övralid with speeches, poems, a prize to an aspiring poet and a traditional lunch (top) of char (röding), chicken and strawberries in the dining room.
Övralid is worth a visit to check out the poet's bedroom overlooking the lake, the library, the salons, not to speak of the garage where the poet housed his large black Cadillac and the garden café. Open May 15 to August 15 with a guided tour on the hour 10-12 and 14-16. Phone 0141-220556.

MÅRBACKA
Mårbacka is the place where Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was born and where she lived until she left for Stockholm in 1882 - Lo learn the teaching profession. A few years later, after her father's death, the house had to be sold and no longer belonged to the family. After having successfully published The Story of Gösta Berling, Jerusalem and The Adventures of Nils Selma Lagerlöf managed, however, to buy back the house and from 1907 she used to live here every summer.

At this time the manor-house was still the old redpainted house of one storey dating back to the end of the 18th century but later Selma Lagerlöf decided to have it completely rebuilt, and this was done in 1921-23 according to drawings by G. Clason, architect of the Nordic Museum and many other famous buildings. Clason added a floor to house Selma Lagerl6f's bedroom, the green library and a few guest rooms. The second bathroom was never installed because an acquaintance of Selma had had a flooding in hers, so this modernity had to be housed in a wing. Otherwise Selma loved everything modern like radios, telephones and the advanced AGA stove in the practical kitchen. Mårbacka is full of beautiful Gustavian and Karl Johan furniture in blond birch (above) and many personal mementos that make you feel that this is a home rather than a museum. Outside there is a beautiful "kitchen garden" and a hay loft where you can attend theatre performances during the summer. There is also the Mårbacka Handel store that served the people on the farm. Today it sells cards and souvenirs. Mårbacka is open from May 10 to September 7 with guided tours every hour between 10 and 16. Phone 0565-31027.

SUNDBORN
When you visit Sundbom, the home of artist Carl Larsson (1853-1919) and his wife Karin, you are first struck by how small it is. Everything looks larger in the "wide-lensed" renderings and books of the house and its rooms. Sundborn is an early example of "compact living" and that may be one of the reasons why we and designers are so fascinated by the many practical solutions and ingenious details. Karin designed all the furniture that was not inherited, in a style that 30 years later came to be known as Bauhaus or Funkis. The village carpenter would often deliver the ordered furniture - that we so love today, while it was dark so that the neighbours could not see "how ugly it was". Karin's fabric design was strong with assymetric patterns. She designed a lamp (below) in the shape of a cactus flower and Carl Larsson himself painted garlands on the walls in the spirit of the arts and crafts movement.

After their parents death, the six remaining children did not have the heart to sell their childhood home, and that is why you can still visit Carl Larsson Gården and see for real all that the artist depicted in such loving detail. Carl Larsson Gdrden is open daily May to September with guided tours every hour. Phone: 023-60377

STRAND
During her lifetime Ellen Key (1849-1926) was as famous as Selma Lagerl6f, but as she wrote non-fiction rather than fiction, few people read her books today. Ellen Key's beautiful home Strand on Lake Vättern is, however, still a popular place to visit. It quickly gets you acquainted with a most remarkable woman who was way ahead of her time. Born in Västervik with a father who was a land-owner and a politician, Ellen Key became a radical teacher in her friend Anna Whitlock's school for girls. A suffraget who also spoke for the rights of children and against war, she was a radical activist much hated for advocating free love and everybody's right to their own pursuits. She was a brilliant linguist (and spoke all languages with a "smålandish" accent) who travelled widely in Europe.

When she turned 60, she received a birthday gift in the form of a large sum of money collected from Swedes of all walks of life and it was this "alternative Nobel Prize" and foreign royalties for her books that made it possible for Ellen Key to build and finish Strand.

The small manor-house is beautifully situated on a steep slope above the lake with an "Italian" sun-room on the second floor where Ellen also had her own rather bare bedroom, library and four guestrooms (that were originally let for free "to working women with few opportunities for a vacation". Nowadays the guestrooms are used by intellectual women on a retreat. The colours of the walls are calm and soothing and the furnishings are simple and beautiful (below) just like Ellen Key advocated. There is a work table in each room so you don't have to go far to jot down any inspirations you get. Strand did not have electricity as Ellen loved candles, but the nearby Ombergs Turisthotel that was financed by Ellen Key and her friend Verner von Heidenstam has all modern-day comforts. Strand is open everyday except Mondays, May 1st-September 1st and there are guided tours 11, 14,15 and 16 o'clock. Phone 0144-33030.

WALDEMARSUDDE
If there was one person who knew, and was friends with all the artists in this article, it was Prince Eugen (1865-1947). He was a frequent guest at all the artists' homes, except perhaps for Mårbacka. An accomplished painter in his own right, Prince Eugen was also a friend and patron of the arts which is evident in almost every detail of Prince Eugen his beautiful villa Waldemarsudde on the island of Djurgården at the sea-approach to Stockholm.

Prince Eugen asked his friend architect Ferdinand Boberg to design the small palace (1903-05) with as many windows as possible towards the sea and a rather closed and strict facade towards the north (below). Inside there are some very pretty rooms as well as the Prince's studio and gallery. In front of the portrait of his mother by Anders Zorn, there are twelve art nouveau flower pots designed by the Prince (and on sale in the museum shop). Nowadays Waldemarsudde houses a variety of art exhibits, but these seldom beat the collection of the best of the Prince's contemporaries that he selected with such a sharp eye for his home. In the garden you see several works by Carl Milles and Carl Eldh as well as sculptures by Per Hasselberg (above), Bror Hjorth and Ivar Johnsson. Inside there are spectacular works by Ernst Josephson as well as some of the best of the Prince's friends Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson, Richard Bergh, Karl Nordström, Bruno Liljefors and Oscar Bj6rk. Waldemarsudde is open everyday except Monday all year round 11-17 (as well as 17-20 Tuesdays and Thursdays JuneAugust). There is a café on the grounds. Phone 08-662 47 40.