Alexander Thiodolf Federley (12 July 1864, in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

– 17 November 1932, in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) was a

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

graphic artist who created political cartoons, posters, book illustrations and postcards. His works are generally signed AFley.

Biography

His father was a military judge. He studied at the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society (now part of the

Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki The Academy of Fine Arts (; ) in Helsinki, Finland is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and provides the highest university-level theoretical and practical training in the country in fine arts. Academy The Academy was founded in 184 ...

), from 1885 to 1888, then attended the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris from 1890 to 1893, where he studied with

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Ar ...

and

Tony Robert-Fleury Tony Robert-Fleury (1 September 18378 December 1911) was a French painter, known primarily for historical scenes. He was also a prominent art teacher, with many famous artists among his students. Biography He was born just outside Paris, and st ...

.Brief biography
by Aimo Reitala @ Biografiskt Lexikon för Finland. In the late 1880s, he was already providing illustrations to the Swedish-language satirical magazine ' (Nib), then to the Finnish-language equivalent, ' (Dear Brother), published by the

Young Finnish Party The Young Finnish Party or Constitutional-Fennoman Party ( or ) was a liberal and nationalist political party in the Grand Duchy of Finland. It began as an upper-class reformist movement during the 1870s and formed as a political party in 1894. ...

. During that time, he also became one of the first political cartoonists in Finland to sign his drawings. Among his best-known book illustrations are those for the multi-volume collection of historical short-stories, (The Surgeon's Tales), by

Zachris Topelius Zacharias Topelius (; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history. He wrote his works exclusively in Swedish, although th ...

. In 1898, he became a regular contributor to '' Fyren'' (Lighthouse), published by the Swedish Party (forerunner to the

Swedish People's Party of Finland The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; , SFP; , RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant i ...

) and remained associated with it until its demise in 1922. In 1907, he designed the party's election poster, which was used repeatedly and as late as 1966. During the 1920s, he was the party's representative to the

Haaga Haaga () is a district and a former municipality in the Western major district of Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Fin ...

Township Council. In addition to his other activities, from 1894 to 1916, he was the Chief Curator for the "Finnish Artists' Association", and he taught at a boys' preparatory vocational school from 1900 until his death, serving as the school's Director after 1909. His wife, , was also an artist.

Selected works

File:A Federley Kajana 1908.jpg, Postcard of lumber in the rapids near

Kajaani Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...

File:Satire drawn by Alex Federley without texts.png, "Haven't I told you to keep your mouth shut when
talking to people?!" File:Federley Velikulta XII1906.jpg, Men representing various political parties, competing for the

Finnish Maiden The Maiden of Finland ( , ) is the national personification of Finland. Personification She is a barefoot young woman in her mid-twenties with blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a blue and white national costume or a white dress. She was origina ...

File:Sibelius pilapiirros.jpg, Caricature of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

Books by Federley

* Bildkonst, 1929 (Pictures and songs: small chips and splinters – in colors and words – from my desk; published in Finnish as A. L., Kuvataide,

929 Year 929 ( CMXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 16 – Emir Abd al-Rahman III of Córdoba, Spain, proclaims himself caliph and creates the Caliphate of Córdoba. H ...

* , Söderströms, 1922 (Fairy tales about animals and birds...mostly birds.)

References

External links

More postcards by Federley
@ Histdoc.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Federley, Alex 1864 births 1932 deaths Artists from Turku People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish political artists Finnish magazine illustrators Magazine cartoonists Finnish editorial cartoonists 19th-century Finnish illustrators 20th-century Finnish illustrators Finnish poster artists Postcard artists Académie Julian alumni Artists from the Russian Empire