Ljus över hav och land: Önningebykolonin på Åland

Abstract

Önningeby on Åland was founded in 1886 as an artists' colony with the Finnish artist Victor Westerholm as a central figure. About thirty Swedish and Finnish artists subsequently came to be active in Önningeby until 1914. The colonists depicted the captivating Åland nature, the archipelago and the changing light over sea and land. In genre paintings, the villagers were shown at work, and in portraits they depicted their artist friends. The community and the social networks were of great importance to the artists, not least to the female painters who were in the majority in the Åland artists' village. Three informative articles in this book describe the colony's history and character, and place Önningeby artist colony in a contemporary context. J.A.G. Acke, Ida Gisiko-Spärck and Edvard Westman from Sweden, Fredrik Ahlstedt, Elin Danielson-Gambogi, Hanna Rönnberg and Helmi Sjöstrand from Finland are some of the artists presented in this richly illustrated book, which has been created in connection with Waldemarsudde's exhibition Light over sea and land. Önningeby colony on Aland. The exhibition, which is the first in Sweden about the artists' colony in Önningeby, is organized on the occasion of the 100-year celebration of Åland's self-government in 2022. Exhibition: Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, Sweden (14.05.2022 - 26.03.2023).