Though little known outside her native country, Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946) is one of Finland’s best-loved artists, and has influenced artists far beyond its borders. Her career, which stretched from the late 1870s to the end of World War II, spanned both impressionism and modernism.
Helene Schjerfbeck is published to accompany a major survey exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of the Arts, the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK since she exhibited in London in 1890. The full range of her exceptional work is presented, with 70 paintings in all genres, including portraits and self-portraits, landscapes and still lifes. With essays about Schjerfbeck’s technique, her social and cultural context and her influence on later artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach, this volume offers a thorough introduction to the artist’s work and legacy.
an utterly riveting view of the Finnish Munch... you are in for the most wonderfully striking surpise. (Rachel Campbell-Johnston New York Times)
[T]here’s a ‘modern’ aspect to many of Schjerfbeck’s images. Right from the off, the women in her portraits look alive, real and healthy.... This is what makes Schjerfbeck fascinating. Instead of tapering off into rehearsed formulas, her art gets better as it heads from start to finish. (Rosemary Waugh Time Out)
Her paintings of her mother, which irresistibly recall Whistler are wonderful: affectionate without being sentimental and with a daughter’s eye to detail.... This is an overdue tribute to a very considerable artist. (Melanie McDonagh Evening Standard)
