From Dawn to Dusk: Nordic Art from Sweden’s Nationalmuseum

From Dawn to Dusk: Nordic Art from Sweden’s Nationalmuseum presents 56 paintings by Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish artists held in the collection of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden. The exhibition traces the final decades of the 19th century, a period of radical development in art of the Nordic countries, through scenes of everyday life, portraits, and landscapes by Vilhelm Hammershøi, Hanna Hirsch-Pauli, Carl Larsson, August Strindberg, Anders Zorn, and many others.

Beginning with the paintings of Nordic artists working in the realist style dominant in 19th-century France, the exhibition then turns to follow the work of those artists who spent time abroad and returned home to see their native countries with new eyes. This return launched a new approach to painting, particularly in the depiction of the landscape, a genre that has come to be regarded as quintessentially Nordic. Around 1890, a national style developed. Nature and the countryside figure prominently in turn-of-the-century Nordic art, but From Dawn to Dusk also highlights the growing interest of Nordic artists in depicting the growth and activity of modern cities.

From Dawn to Dusk: Nordic Art from Sweden’s Nationalmuseum is organized by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden, and the National Nordic Museum. This exhibition is curated by the Nationalmuseum’s Curator Carl-Johan Olsson. The presentation at the National Nordic Museum—the premiere North American venue for the exhibition—is coordinated by Leslie Anne Anderson, Director of Collections, Exhibitions, and Programs.

Press:

"Quintessentially Nordic" - Fine Art Connoisseur
"Only North American venue" - Preview
"... a landmark art exhibition from Sweden’s national museum" - Nordstjernan
"the Nordic region’s leading artists of the late 19th century..." - Art Daily
"superb examples of landscapes and portraits that convey deep emotion..." - Visual Art Source
"Highlights from the exhibition" - Swedish Press

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Rediscovered: August Strindberg as a Painter

August Strindberg’s "The Town" (or "The Mirage") from 1903, shown in the Museum's newest exhibition "From Dawn to Dusk at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle", is a well-traveled painting. It has been displayed in all major cities in Western Europe, as well as Russia. In the late 1960s, it also traveled to New York and Mexico City. This presentation from professor emerita Lotta Gavel Adams features some fifteen of Strindberg’s other paintings, and discusses his motifs (or “soulscapes”) and technique, as well as his life.