Arne Isacsson (21 March 1917 – 25 September 2010) was one of Sweden's most famous watercolour artists and art educators. He was also an author and professor and founded the

Gerlesborg School of Fine Art The Gerlesborg School of Fine Art () is an art school located in the village of Gerlesborg, south of Hamburgsund in Tanum Municipality, Bohuslän, Sweden. The school also has a branch in Stockholm and holds courses in Provence, France. History ...

in 1944. Isacsson's well-represented oeuvre explored, among other things, the properties of colour pigments in copious amounts of water.

Biography

Arne Isacsson was born in Ronneby,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. His grandparents had emigrated from

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, United States, but returned in the late 19th century. His father enlisted, but had returned to work as a mill worker in Ronneby at the time of Isacsson's birth. A few years later, the family moved to

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and in 1930 to

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, where Isacsson graduated in 1935. He was a student of artist

Otte Sköld Joseph Adolf Johannes Sköld (14 July 1894 – 7 November 1958), commonly known as Otte Sköld, was a Swedish painter, mosaicist, scenographer, draftsman, graphic artist, and teacher. He taught at the Académie Moderne and Académie Scandinav ...

from 1944 to 1946. Isacsson spent his summers in Dalsland, where he came into contact with the artists and . Together with and they formed the Bengtsfors Group. Isacsson was the originator of the watercolour

monotyping Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix (printing), matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to a ...

technique and used it, among other things, in collages that were laminated between panes of glass. He is represented at the

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

with a portrait of

Vilhelm Moberg Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his four‑volume series ''The Emigrant ...

, the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

Gripsholm Gripsholm Castle () is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Since Gustav I Vasa, Gripsholm has belonged to ...

, the

Swedish Parliament The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, f ...

, the Centre Culturel Suédois in Paris, the

Gothenburg Museum of Art Gothenburg Museum of Art () is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third-largest art museum in Sweden by the size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collection of late 19th-cen ...

, and more. Isacsson also collaborated with sculptor on the sculptures ' in

Fjällbacka Fjällbacka is a locality situated in Tanum Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, with 859 inhabitants in 2010. It is located approximately from Gothenburg, from Oslo and from Stockholm, and is mostly known as a summer tourist resort. ...

and in

Kungshamn Kungshamn (''King's Landing'') is a locality and the seat of Sotenäs Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 3071 citizens (in 2011).

. Isacsson was the founder of the

in Gerlesborg (1944), eventually with branches in Stockholm (1948) and Provence (1958), and was appointed professor of watercolour technique in 1983. He is the author of several books on watercolour techniques. In 2004 the biography by Gertrud Gidlund and Göran Gustafsson was published. In 2008, a lavishly illustrated licentiate thesis was published: by Anita Midbjer at Umeå University. Isacsson was married from 1947 to 1958 to teacher Kerstin Renqvist (1922–2009), sister of artist ; from 1958 to 1965 to actress (1927–1992); and from 1966 until his death to artist (born 1943). His children include Swedish-Canadian filmmaker

Magnus Isacsson Magnus Isacsson (1948 – August 2, 2012) was a Canadian documentary filmmaker whose films investigated contemporary political issues and topics in social activism. Early life and television career Isacsson was born in Sweden in 1948. His father ...

(1948–2012) from his first marriage. Arne Isacsson died in 2010 in Gerlesborg and is buried at Laxarby Cemetery.

Awards

In 1970 Isacsson received the

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards (), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj: ...

' merit badge from King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

. He was awarded the

Illis Quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It") is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gusta ...

medal and the in 1999. He received an honorary doctorate from

Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...

in 2004.

Bibliography

* * * *

Works represented at

* *

Museum of Bohuslän A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

* * Centre Culturel Suédois in Paris *

Nordic Watercolour Museum The Nordic Watercolour Museum () is a museum, artist workshop and research facility in Skärhamn on the island of Tjörn in Sweden, opened in 2000. The architects behind the museum, painted in the typical Swedish Falu red colour, are the Danes Nie ...

References

Obituary – Svenska Dagbladet (Swedish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isacsson, Arne 1917 births 2010 deaths People from Ronneby Municipality 20th-century Swedish painters 21st-century Swedish painters Swedish watercolourists Recipients of the Illis quorum Artists from Blekinge County