Mai Hinge Raud-Pähn (2 November 1920 – 23 April 2024) was an Estonian-Swedish

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, editor, and journalist. She was the editor-in-chief of the Swedish-Estonian magazine ' from 1987 to 2014. Raud-Pähn was honoured with the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

from the

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

for her significant contributions to history and art.

Life and career

Mai Hinge Raud-Pähn was born on 2 November 1920 in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

, Estonia. Her father, Märt Raud (1881–1980), was a writer and school counselor, and her mother, Anna Raud, was one of the first female teachers in Estonia. In 1928, she attended the Viljandi Eesti Haridusseltsi Tütarlaste Gümnaasiumi Algkoolis school, and from 1934 to 1937, she was a student of the Pärnu Flickgymnasium. After graduating from the Stockholm School of Applied Arts, she worked as a teacher in

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

Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...

. In 1940, the family was forced to move to Germany due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They subsequently returned to Sweden via Denmark. From 1957 to 1964, Raud-Pähn was a student of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

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 ...

, where she was taught by historian . She also undertook

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

and

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

courses. In 1972, she earned a licentiate degree from the university, with the thesis on a silversmith in Tallinn during the period 1474–1659. From 1987 to 2014, Raud-Pähn was the editor-in-chief of the Swedish-Estonian magazine '. For several years, she was member of the (Swedish Association of Estonians – REL) and the Estonian National Museum's Friends' Association. She has contributed to several articles on art history, as well as language courses. Raud-Pähn

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in 2020, and died on 23 April 2024, at the age of 103.

Awards and honours

Raud-Pähn was awarded the

, Medal Class from the

in 2001, and the Swedish National Association of Culture award in 2006, in recognition of her significant contributions to history and art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raud-Pahn, Mai 1920 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Swedish historians Historians of Europe Historians of Estonia Estonian emigrants to Sweden Estonian World War II refugees Recipients of the Order of the White Star, Medal Class People from Pärnu Swedish women historians Estonian women centenarians