Vicke after Orrefors

With the current level of international interest in mid-twentieth century decorative arts, it is not surprising to find Vicke Lindstrand’s work is now popular with museums and collectors. Vicke Lindstrand is a recognised name in the field of decorative arts and it seems reasonable to expect him to be well documented in the history of Swedish and Scandinavian design. Whilst he does feature in a many texts, most of what is written about Lindstrand, particularly in English, is framed within the lauded Artist in Industry model that is Orrefors, his apprenticeship under Simon Gate and Edward Hald, Swedish Grace and the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition. What is surprising is the scarcity of scholarly discussion of his post 1950s work which remains sparsely documented and largely unknown. At times he is associated with Orrefors, at other times he is purposefully omitted from discussion. The fact that he had a continuing career after Orrefors has at times been forgotten and at other times blatantly dismissed.

Orrefors

Terrible news that the world famous Orrefors glass factory in Småland has been closed down. Lindstrand’s 1934 design, the Mingus Martini pitcher, originally produced at Orrefors’ Sandvik factory is the last of his designs to remain in current production. It is included in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Photo: Pål Allan Orrefors

Textiles - then and now

This fabric and wallpaper in current production by Sanderson in the UK (bottom) is 'inspired' by Vicke's design for Elsa Gullberg (top) in the 1930s - http://www.sanderson-uk.com/DesignDetails.aspx

Stieg Larsson and Vicke Lindstrand

Interesting fact: During the 1940s, Lindstrand lived in an apartment at Götgatan 19 in Södermalm, Stockholm. In the best-selling Millenium Trilogy novels by the Swede Stieg Larsson, the fictional offices of Millennium Magazine are located at this same address.

Welcome

This blog is for information about the Swedish artist and designer Viktor Emmanuel (Vicke) Lindstrand (1904-1983) based on the doctoral research of Dr Mark Ian Jones from Sydney Australia. Please feel free to ask questions about Vicke!