Mollie Faustman (

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

, la Vagabonde;

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 ...

, 1883 - Stockholm, 1966) was a Swedish painter, illustrator, journalist and author.

Biography

Originally from the district of

Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is a ...

, Mollie Faustman was one of the three daughters of engineer Edvard Faustman and professor Alma Karsten; she was the paternal granddaughter of

Wendela Hebbe Wendela Hebbe (; 9 September 1808 – 27 August 1899), was a Swedish journalist, writer, and salon hostess. She was arguably the first permanently employed female journalist at a Swedish newspaper.Berger, Margareta, Pennskaft: kvinnliga journali ...

and

Lars Johan Hierta Lars Johan Hierta (; 22 January 1801 – 20 November 1872) was a Swedish Publishing, newspaper publisher, Social criticism, social critic, businessman and politician. He is best known as the founder of the newspaper ''Aftonbladet'' in 1830. Hier ...

. She studied with the Swedish artist

Carl Wilhelmson Carl Wilhelm Wilhelmson (12 November 1866, Fiskebäckskil – 24 September 1928, Gothenburg) was a Swedish painter, graphic artist, amateur photographer and art teacher. Biography His father, Anders Wilhelmson, was a "Bästeman" (a type of Mast ...

at the Valand Art School in

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 ...

from 1905 to 1908. In 1910, she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to complete her apprenticeship with

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

. Faustman married Gösta Törneqvist from 1910 to 1915, before marrying Gösta Chatham a second time from 1917 to 1926. They had two children, Tuttan Faustman-Hedberg (1917-1999), and

Hampe Faustman Erik "Hampe" Faustman (born Erik Stellan Chatham; 3 July 1919 – 26 August 1961) was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in more than 20 films between 1940 and 1961. He also directed 20 films between 1943 and 1955. He was married to ...

(1919-1961). She was involved in the construction of innovative pedagogical schools such as Olofskolan and Viggbyholmsskolan in the Stockholm area. Faustman is buried at Skogskyrkogården Cemetery in Stockholm.

Artistic career

As early as 1909, Faustman presented her first works alongside the artists Gösta Törneqvist, Frans Timén and Carl Luthander. She focused mainly on brightly colored landscapes with characteristics of

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and romance, including children's motifs. She has also done portraits, including Uno Henning,

Ture Nerman Ture Nerman (18 May 1886, in Norrköping – 7 October 1969) was a Swedish socialist journalist, author, and political activist. He also wrote poems and songs. Nerman was a vegetarian and a strict teetotaler. Alcoholism was a major social pro ...

and Hanna Borrie. Faustman was a member of the artists' association ''Optimisterna'' from 1924 to 1932, and exhibited with the group at

Liljevalchs konsthall Liljevalchs konsthall () is a kunsthalle art venue located on Djurgården island in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by architect Carl Bergsten (1879–1935) and inaugurated in March 1916, it is today owned by the City of Stockholm. Behind the ent ...

. She joined the art group ''Independentna''. She had several solo exhibitions at the House of Artists in Stockholm in the 1930s and 1940s, and participated in group exhibitions imbued with contemporary

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

. In

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

she produced the monumental painting Människans glädjeämnen at Härnösands småskoleseminarium. Faustman 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 ...

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in Malmö. History The museum opened in Stockh ...

Gothenburg Art Museum 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 ...

, Länsmuseet Gävleborg, Östergötlands Museum, Norrköpings konstmuseum and Hälsingland Museum.

Literary career

Under the pseudonym ''la Vagabonde'', Faustman wrote regularly in the newspapers ''Idun'' and ''

Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...

''. In 1926, she played a major role in the campaign that led to the closure of the tabloid magazine ''Fäderneslandet''. She also published several books, produced book illustrations and drew

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s such as ''Tuttan'' and ''Putte'' in the newspaper ''Dagens Nyheter''.

Biography

Artistic career

Literary career

References

Further reading