Ester Laura Matilda Claesson (7 June 1884 – 12 November 1931) was a Swedish landscaping pioneer and is considered the first female

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

in Sweden.

Biography

Claesson finished her secondary school in Stockholm in 1900, a time when there were no academically trained female landscape architects in Sweden. There were women gardening practitioners, but mainly those who already owned a garden of their own. Those who wanted a professional education had to go abroad, usually Denmark, England or Germany. As Claesson was interested in gardening and architecture, she worked as a gardener on a farm in Tomarp,

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. She later continued her education in Denmark, graduating in 1903 from Havebrugs Höjeskole in

Charlottenlund Charlottenlund is a suburban area on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the administrative seat of Gentofte Municipality. Bordered to the east by the Øresund, to the South by Hellerup and to the north by Klampenborg, it is one of the ...

. After graduation, Claesson worked as a landscape architect for

Paul Schultze-Naumburg Paul Schultze-Naumburg (10 June 1869 – 19 May 1949) was a German traditionalist architect, painter, publicist and author. A leading critic of modern architecture, he joined the Nazi Party in 1930 (aged 61) and became an important advocate o ...

in Germany, and for the architect

Joseph Maria Olbrich Joseph Maria Olbrich (22 December 1867 – 8 August 1908) was an Austrian architect and one of the Vienna Secession founders. Early life Olbrich was born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia (modern day Opava, Czech Republic), the third child of Edm ...

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in Austria. Claesson's most important work at Darmstadt was a terrace with a rose garden, from a mission made by

's influential costumer Julius Glückert, who owned a furniture factory in the city. In 1907, the women-oriented weekly magazine '' Idun'' declared Claesson Sweden's first female landscape architect, and her artistic work was further celebrated by the magazines ''Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration'' in 1907 and '' The Studio'' in 1912. In 1913, Claesson returned to Sweden and worked as an architect with

Isak Gustaf Clason Isak Gustaf Clason (30 July 1856 Falun – 19 July 1930 Rättvik) was a Sweden, Swedish architect. Biography Clason studied engineering and later architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he was a student of ...

. She soon started her own business and introduced Olbrich's ideas to Sweden. She took her influences mainly from the English

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

. Her gardening was influenced by architectural elements. She gained note as a landscape architect and established a co-operation with landscape architects

Carl Westman Ernst Carl Westman (20 February 1866 – 23 January 1936) was a Swedish architect and interior designer. He was an early adopter of the National Romantic Style, but turned later to the neo-classical style of the 1920s. Biography Carl Westma ...

, Isak Gustaf Clason and

Ivar Tengbom Ivar Justus Tengbom (April 7, 1878 – August 6, 1968) was a Sweden, Swedish architect and one of the best-known representatives of the Swedish neo-classical architecture of the 1910s and 1920s. Tengbom was born in Vireda in Jönköping Coun ...

. During the first decade of the 1900s, she was the best-known and most-published landscape architect in Sweden. In 1918, Claesson worked as a landscape architect at Villa Brevik in

Lidingö Lidingö (), also known in its definite form Lidingön and as Lidingölandet, is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 48,162. It is the ...

, just north of Stockholm. Through her work there she made contact with

Erik Axel Karlfeldt Erik Axel Karlfeldt (20 July 1864 – 8 April 1931) was a Swedish poet whose highly symbolist poetry masquerading as regionalism was popular and won him the 1931 Nobel Prize in Literature posthumously after he had been nominated by Nathan Söd ...

, who lived nearby and in 1921 Claesson designed the garden for Karlfeldtsgården (the Karlfeldt summer residence), north of

Leksand Leksand () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Leksand Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,934 inhabitants in 2010. Leksand is situated on the southern branch of lake Siljan (lake), Siljan, where it flows into river Öst ...

, which still exists. Claesson died at age 47, reportedly by a gunshot to the heart, and was buried on 22 November 1931 at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

. Claesson teckning 1912.JPG, Terrasserad trädgård in ''The Studio'', 1912 Ester Claesson Idun 1917a.JPG, Garden wall with the terrace in ''Idun'', 1907 Ester Claesson Idun 1917b.JPG, Garden gates in ''Idun'', 1907 Ester Claesson Idun 1917c.JPG, Garden bench in ''Idun'', 1907

Work

In 1914, Claesson and Harald Wadsjö participated in the gardening competition at

Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects th ...

in Stockholm. Their joint exhibition Cumulus received the third prize. That a woman had received the third prize became noted in Germany. Claesson's other noted works include her garden at Ingelsta gård in 1917, at Adelsnäs in 1916–20 and the Röda Bergen garden in the Humleboet in 1925. Claesson and Karlfeldt created a garden together at Karlfeldtsgården Sång with terraces looking on Lake Opplimen. This garden is Claesson's only landscape work that remains in its original state. Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015e.jpg Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015f.jpg Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015g.jpg Karlfeldtsgården Sångs 2015h.jpg

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claesson, Ester 1884 births 1931 deaths Swedish landscape architects Women landscape architects Deaths by firearm in Sweden Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen 20th-century Swedish women artists 20th-century Swedish artists

Biography

Work

References

Further reading

External links