''Sigrid'' Elisabeth Hedman, maiden name ''Norman'' (April 26, 1855 in Stockholm – February 28, 1922 in

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of ...

outside of Stockholm), was one of the members of the group ''

De Fem ''Anna'' Maria Augusta Cassel (15 March 1860 close to Grythyttan – 18 February 1937 in Stockholm) was a Swedish artist. She mainly painted landscapes from Norrland, Skåne, Västmanland and around Stockholm, made in oil or in tempera. Biograp ...

'' (''The Five''), a

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

group founded in 1896 and dissolved in 1907. Sigrid Hedman was married to the wholesaler Ernst Hedman (1853–1938). They had five children, born 1884–1889. Sigrid Hedman was an early member of the Edelweiss Society in Stockholm. She was interested in spiritualism and had mediumistic gifts. In 1900 she published an article in the magazine ('Afterwards? Journal of Spiritualism and related topics'), which was the main publication for spiritualism in Sweden. In the article she defended spiritualism, pointing out how straining it was for the

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

to get in touch with higher beings. The other members of the group (''The Five'') were

Hilma af Klint Hilma af Klint (; 26 October 1862 – 21 October 1944) was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings are considered among the first abstract works known in Western art history. A considerable body of her work predates the first purely abstrac ...

Anna Cassel ''Anna'' Maria Augusta Cassel (15 March 1860 close to Grythyttan – 18 February 1937 in Stockholm) was a Swedish artist. She mainly painted landscapes from Norrland, Skåne, Västmanland and around Stockholm, made in oil or in tempera. Biogra ...

, Mathilda Nilsson and

Cornelia Cederberg ''Cornelia'' Carolina Amalia Cederberg, born on November 6 1854 in Stockholm, died February 21 1933 in Stockholm, was one of the members of the group ''De Fem'' (''The Five''), a spiritualistic group founded in 1896, and dissolved in 1907. The ...

(Mathilda Nilsson's sister). It began as an ordinary spiritualist group that received messages through a

psychograph The psychograph was a phrenology machine, invented and marketed by Henry C. Lavery in the early part of the 20th century. The psychograph claimed to mechanically discern a subject's aptitudes in a number of mental faculties. It was designed to ...

(an instrument for recording spirit writings) or a

trance medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

. Sigrid Hedman was the medium within the group, as she was the one receiving the messages from the spirits. During group's séances spirit leaders presented themselves by name and promised to help the group's members in their spiritual training. The spirits communicating with the five women were mostly Gregor, Georg, Clemens, Ananda and Amaliel. Such leaders are common in spiritualist literature and life. Through their spiritural guidance, the group was inspired to draw automatically in pencil, a technique that was not unusual at that time. When the hand moved automatically, the conscious will did not direct the pattern that developed on the paper, and, in theory, the women thus became artistic tools for their spirit leaders. This technique, called automatism, was used a decade later by the

Surrealists Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

. In a series of sketchbooks, religious scenes and symbols were depicted in drawings made by the group collectively. Their drawing technique developed in such a way that abstract patterns—dependent on the free movement of the hand—became visible."Revolt, They Said". www.andreageyer.info.
Retrieved 2017-08-13. The group ceased to meet in 1907. Several of its members went on to collaborate with Hilma af Klint on the ''Paintings for the Temple''.

References

{{cite book , title=Ny databas "Sveriges dödbok 1860–2016" lektronisk resurs, url=https://www.ulricehamn.se/2019/02/ny-databas-sveriges-dodbok-1860-2016/ , year=2019 , publisher=Sveriges Släktforskarförbund , language=sv Swedish artists