Temporary exhibitions this autumn at Nationalmuseum

John Singer Sargent
13 October 2018-13 January 2019

This is the first time that a major exhibition about the American painter John Singer Sargent (1856 -1925) is shown in Scandinavia. Sargent is often described as one of the leading portrait painters of his generation. His art is extremely popular in both the US and the UK but here in Sweden, it is still fairly unknown. This exhibition includes several of Sargent’s most famous works such as the portrait of the French doctor Samuel Jean de Pozzi and the sisters Ena and Betty Wertheimer.

It was his technical brilliance and artistic ability to capture the personality of his objects that made John Singer Sargent so popular as a portrait painter. In his portraits, we come face to face with the international high society of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Aristocratic women and men as well as the newly rich bourgeoisie in their silk dresses, dark costumes and tall hats. There are also portraits of some of Sargent’s many friends within the international cultural elite such as Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin and Henry James.

The art of John Singer Sargent has much in common with Nordic art. The way in which he painted and his artistic career are reminiscent of Anders Zorn. They were both internationally acclaimed portrait painters who balanced between traditionalism and modernism. Whilst inspired by French impressionists, their portrait painting skills were very much rooted in the 17^th century. In this exhibition several artworks by Zorn are shown side by side with Sargent’s.

Unlike Zorn, Sargent rarely painted naked females. Naked men, however, is a recurring theme of Sargent and the exhibition includes a series of rarely seen charcoal drawings of nude male models. We know relatively little about the private life of John Singer Sargent. He may have been homosexual but would have concealed his sexual orientation to the outside world. Back then, homosexuality was punishable in most countries.

Though an American citizen, Sargent spent most of his life in Europe. His parents were Americans but he was born in Florence, educated in France and spent many years working in the United Kingdom. He also lived in Italy from time to time. Sargent’s cosmopolitan life is clearly reflected in his paintings. The exhibition brings together city landscapes and Venetian interiors, sceneries and folklore images from the Middle East and North Africa as well as magnificent views from the Alps and the Canadian wilderness. The exhibition concludes with a series of pictures painted by Sargent during his time as a so-called ‘war artist’, commissioned by the UK Government.

The exhibition about John Singer Sargent has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Design Stories
13 October 2018-17 February 2019

Design Stories looks curiously at the field of contemporary current design in Sweden where, in one way or another, the ‘story’ constitutes the basis of form and expression. Storytelling as a concept and phenomenon has become an increasingly important part in object or business-related communications. The exhibition highlights the concept of stories as part of the conceptual development, work processing and/or brand profiling of a designer. The perspectives and thoughts of ten subjectively selected designers are here presented in the form of objects and short films.

Participating designers: Iman Aldebe, Bolon (Annika Eklund and Marie Eklund), Front (Anna Lindgren and Sofia Lagerkvist), Monica Förster, Anna Kraitz, Louise Linderoth, Anna von Schewen (also featuring in one project/String with Björn Dahlström), Petra Wadström, Pia Wallén and Ida Wessel.

A&E Design
13 October 2018-13 January 2019

This year, the Swedish design company A&E Design is 50 years old. This is celebrated with an exhibition showing handmade models and prototypes donated by the company to the National Museum of Art. A&E Design was founded in 1968 by Tom Ahlström and Hans Ehrich and has since been designing a wide range of ergonomic everyday items on behalf of both Swedish and international clients. For example, 67 million copies have been sold of the 1230 dish brush designed on behalf of Jordan while the red queue ticket dispenser, M80, designed on behalf of Turn-O-Matic, is now a well-known feature in most supermarkets. The exhibition includes prototypes, sketches, drawings and finished products from the extensive activities of A&E Design.

For more information
Hanna Tottmar, Head of Press, press@nationalmuseum.se, +46 (0)8 5195 4400