Press release -
Major Bruno Liljefors donation to Gustavianum and Uppsala University
Bruno Liljefors’s granddaughter, Catarina Lundegårdh, has donated 70 works by the artist to the Gustavianum. As a result of this gift, Uppsala University now owns the largest Liljefors collection in the world. A generous selection of the works will be on display in the Gustavianum summer exhibition in 2026.
The University’s art collection has recently been augmented by a substantial donation of works by Bruno Liljefors. The artist’s granddaughter, Catarina Lundegårdh, has donated a total of 70 works by Liljefors from different periods and using various techniques – mainly oil paintings, but also drawings and sculptures. The University’s art collection already included a significant number of works by the artist and as a result of this gift, Uppsala University now owns the largest Liljefors collection in the world.
“Needless to say, it is tremendously pleasing that Uppsala University has received this marvellous donation from Catarina Lundegårdh. Her gift is a wonderful addition to the University’s already rich art collection,” says Mikael Ahlund, Director of the Gustavianum Museum.
One of Sweden’s most famous artists
Bruno Liljefors (1860–1939) is one of Sweden’s most famous artists. He was a close friend of Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson and on several occasions the three exhibited together. Liljefors grew up in Uppsala and his interest in wildlife and nature in the countryside around the city led to his early adoption of an artistic career. Based on the new plein-air painting of the time, he developed an innovative artistic style in which Swedish fauna took centre stage. Liljefors was well ahead of his time in championing environmental issues and he expressed concern early on about the threat to the diversity of nature resulting from human activities. The pressing climate and environmental issues of our time have made him relevant even in our day.
Versatile artistry
The donation reflects the versatility of Liljefors’s oeuvre – oil studies made in the open air, large oil paintings, drawings and sketches. The gift also includes one of the artist’s foremost sculptures – the bronze Peregrine Falcon and Mallard. Besides depictions of nature and animals – from Uppland, the coast and other places – the donation also contains a number of portraits and human studies, including an early portrait of Signe Olofsson from 1879. She later became the artist’s wife and was the grandmother of the donor, Catarina Lundegårdh.
Lundegårdh has been an active writer, musician and visual artist. In recent years, in addition to her own creative work, she has helped to enhance what is known about Bruno Liljefors by publishing two books of previously unpublished letters, diaries and notes that shed new light on the artist, his life and his family.
A generous selection of the donated works will be on display in the Gustavianum summer exhibition in 2026. The exhibition will run from 12 June to 13 September 2026.
Contact
Mikael Ahlund, Museum Director, Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum
Email: mikael.ahlund@uu.se
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Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities. www.uu.se
