Maire-Ilon Wikland (née Pääbo; born February 5, 1930) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

n-born Swedish artist and illustrator. Wikland was born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast o ...

, Estonia and raised in

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its ...

Lääne County Lääne County ( et, Lääne maakond or ''Läänemaa'', literally "Western land"; german: Wiek; la, Rotalia) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders the Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-ea ...

on Estonia's Baltic coast. In 1944 she escaped with the family of a classmate from the second

Soviet occupation of Estonia The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an National delimitation in ...

, to Sweden, where she arrived as a refugee. In 1953 Wikland applied for a job as illustrator at

Rabén & Sjögren Rabén & Sjögren is a book publishing company in Sweden. It was established in 1942 by and . Since 1998 it has been part of Norstedts förlag. The publishing focus is on children's and youth literature. Rabén & Sjögren was very successful, p ...

. She was met by

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...

, who had just finished writing the book ''Mio, my Son'' and who could see immediately that Wikland was able to "draw fairytales". Wikland did a test-drawing for the book and after that her collaboration with Lindgren continued. Wikland has said that Lindgren's writing continually makes her see inner pictures. She also derives inspiration for her pictures from real life. In the same way that Lindgren wrote for "the child within her", Wikland often also draws for the child within her. Wikland is the artist who has illustrated the greatest number of Lindgren's books: * ''The Six Bullerby Children'' (a.k.a. '' The Children of Noisy Village'') * ''

The Children on Troublemaker Street ''Lotta on Troublemaker Street'' ( sv, Lotta på Bråkmakargatan; also known as ''The Children on Troublemaker Street'') is a Swedish novel and picture book series by Rabén & Sjögren, which is written by Astrid Lindgren. Plot Lotta is a lit ...

'' * ''

The Brothers Lionheart ''The Brothers Lionheart'' ( sv, Bröderna Lejonhjärta) is a children's fantasy novel written by Astrid Lindgren. Well established as one of the most widely read and beloved books for children in Sweden, it was originally published in the autumn ...

'' * ''

Karlsson-on-the-Roof Karlsson-on-the-Roof ( sv, link=no, Karlsson på taket) is a character who figures in a series of children's books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Translated books and cartoon adaptation of the series became popular in the Soviet Union whe ...

'' * '' Mardie'' * ''

Mio, My Son ''Mio, My Son'' is a children's book by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. It was first published in 1954 in Sweden with the Swedish title ''Mio, min Mio'' (literally "Mio, my Mio"). The writing is stylised and the story strongly reminiscent of tra ...

'' * ''Simon Small Moves In'' * ''

Ronia the Robber's Daughter ''Ronia, the Robber's Daughter'' ( Swedish: ''Ronja rövardotter'') is a children's fantasy book by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1981. The book has been adapted as a prize-winning 1984 film, a Danish and a German musi ...

'' * ''

Seacrow Island ''Seacrow Island'' (original title: ''Vi på Saltkråkan'') is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren. The story continues in the book ''Scrap and the Pirates''. Plot Family Melkersson from Stockholm goes to Seacrow Island to live at C ...

'' * '' The Ghost of Skinny Jack'' * '' The Red Bird''. She has also provided the illustrations for many picture books by Lindgren and many other writers, including ''The Dragon with Red Eyes'', ''I Want a Brother or Sister'', ''That’s My Baby'', ''Brenda Helps Grandmother'', ''Simon Small Moves in'', and ''

The Borrowers ''The Borrowers'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author Mary Norton, published by Dent in 1952. It features a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in ...

''. In 2004 Wikland decided to gift her original illustrations to Estonia. The artwork was originally exhibited in Wikland's gallery in Haapsalu, Estonia. In 2009 "Ilon's Wonderland", a gallery and theme centre for children and families based on her works and illustrations, was opened in Haapsalu.

Awards

Wikland 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 Gu ...

by the government of Sweden in 2002 for her "outstanding ability to bring environments and characters to life from her own and Astrid Lindgren's writings".

References

External links

Ilon Wikland
at AstridLindgren.se
Iloni Imedemaa
or Ilons Wonderland, museum in

, Estonia
''I Draw, Therefore I Am'' (2009)
– documentary film by Kim Finn and John Hakalax *
Soome produtsent ja lavastaja John Hakalax räägib Ilon Wiklandi eluloofilmi saamisloost
* 1930 births Living people 20th-century Swedish women artists 20th-century Estonian women artists 21st-century Swedish women artists 21st-century Estonian women artists People from Tartu Swedish illustrators Estonian women illustrators People from Haapsalu Estonian emigrants to Sweden Estonian World War II refugees Swedish fantasy illustrators Estonian children's book illustrators Swedish children's book illustrators Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class Recipients of the Illis quorum {{illustrator-stub