Eva Fredrika Bonnier (17 November 1857 – 13 January 1909) was a Swedish painter and philanthropist. __TOC__

Biography

Born in Stockholm as the daughter of publisher Albert Bonnier and a member of a leading family of publishers, Bonnier studied painting with

August Malmström Johan August Malmström (14 October 1829 – 18 October 1901) was a Swedish painter. As an artist, he was known for his country motifs often featuring children. His most widely recognized work is ''Grindslanten'' (1885) featuring a typical ...

and became a student in the women's section of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

in Stockholm in 1878. Together with her friend and co-student Hanna Hirsch, she traveled to Paris in 1883, staying there until 1889. Her painting "Music" (1889) was awarded a ''mention honorable'' at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. After her return to Sweden in 1889, she was active as a painter until about 1900, mostly of portraits, such as those of Lisen Bonnier (her sister-in-law) as convalescent, industrialist Hjalmar Lundbohm, politician , educator and poet and scholar

Oscar Levertin Oscar Ivar Levertin (17 July 1862, Norrköping – 22 September 1906) was a Swedish poet, critic and literary historian. Levertin was a dominant voice of the Swedish cultural scene from 1897, when he started writing influential high-profile essay ...

. Bonnier exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 197 ...

at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago, Illinois. She is represented with several paintings in 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 ...

, Stockholm. Evabonnierphotoca1905

After about 1900 Bonnier fell silent as an artist and devoted herself to her philanthropic work, enabled through her inherited wealth. She established a foundation for the beautification of Stockholm, which in its first years financed paintings and sculptures for public places and institutions, such as the Royal Library,

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

, and several Stockholm schools. The foundation remains active. Bonnier was a member of the women's association

Nya Idun ('New Idun') is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings". Activity was founded ...

. Bonnier suffered from frequent depressions and took her own life in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1909, aged 51.

Selected works

File:Eva Bonnier Självporträtt 1886.jpg, 1886 (''Self portrait'', Bonnier family portrait collection, Stockholm) File:Interior of a Studio in Paris (Eva Bonnier) - Nationalmuseum - 20563.tif, 1886 ('' Interior of a Studio in Paris'',

, Stockholm) File:Magdalena by Eva Bonnier.jpg, 1887 (''Magdalena'',

Waldemarsudde Prince Eugene's Waldemarsudde () is a museum located on Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was formerly the home of Prince Eugen (1865-1947), a Swedish prince, painter and art collector. The museum houses Prince Eugen's extensive art col ...

) File:Reflection in Blue (Eva Bonnier) - Nationalmuseum - 18706.tif, 1887 (''Reflection in Blue'', Nationalmuseum) File:Eva Bonnier Couturières 1887.jpg, 1887 (''Dressmakers'') File:Eva Bonnier 4.jpg, 1890 (''The House Keeper'', Nationalmuseum, Stockholm) File:Eva_Bonnier_3.jpg, 1890 (''Convalescent'', Lisen Bonnier) File:JuliaHasselberg by EvaBonnier 1906.jpg, ca 1906 (Julia Hasselberg, Blekinge museum)

References

*Gynning, Margareta: ''Det ambivalenta perspektivet: Eva Bonnier och Hanna Hirsch-Pauli i 1880-talets konstliv'', Stockholm, Bonnier, (diss. Uppsala University), 1999. *Hedberg, Tor: "Bonnier, Eva Fredrika", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', 5, pp. 436–438.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnier, Eva 19th-century Swedish painters 1857 births 1909 deaths Painters from Stockholm Swedish Jews Jewish women painters Jewish painters Eva Members of Nya Idun 1909 suicides Suicides in Denmark 19th-century Swedish women painters

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links