HELENE SCHJERFBECK 1862-1946 Hèlsinki, Finland

Helena Sofia (Helene) Schjerfbeck (pronounced [heˈleːn ˈʃæ̌rvbek] ⓘ; July 10, 1862 – January 23, 1946) was a Finnish modernist painter known for her realist works and self-portraits, and also for her landscapes and still lifes. Throughout her long life her work changed dramatically, beginning with French-influenced realism and plein air painting. It gradually evolved towards portraits and still life paintings. At the beginning of her career she often produced historical paintings, such as the Wounded Warrior in the Snow (1880), At the Door of Linköping Jail in 1600 (1882) and The Death of Wilhelm von Schwerin (1886). Historical paintings were usually the realm of male painters, as was experimentation with modern influences and French radical naturalism, and her works from mostly the 1880s did not receive a favourable reception until later in her life.[1] Her work starts with a dazzlingly skilled, somewhat melancholic version of late-19th-century academic realism.... It ends with distilled, nearly abstract images in which pure paint and cryptic description are held in perfect balance. (Roberta Smith, The New York Times, November 27, 1992)[2] Schjerbeck's birthday, July 10, is Finland's national day for the painted arts. Early life Young Schjerfbeck in 1880 Helena Sofia Schjerfbeck was born on July 10, 1862, in Helsinki, in the autonomous Grand-Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire, to Svante Schjerfbeck (an office manager) and Olga Johanna (née Printz).[3] She had one surviving brother, Magnus Schjerfbeck (1860–1933), who went on to become an architect.[1] In 1866, aged 4, she fell down some stairs injuring her hip, which prevented her from attending school and left her with a limp for the rest of her life. She showed talent at an early age, and at eleven years old in 1873 she was enrolled at the Finnish Art Society School of Drawing. Her fees were paid by Adolf von Becker, who saw promise in her.[4] At this school Schjerfbeck met Helena Westermarck. These two, and artist Maria Wiik and lesser-known Ada Thilén had a close friendship during their lives.[5][1] When Schjerfbeck's father died of tuberculosis, on February 2, 1876, Schjerfbeck's mother took in boarders so that they could get by. A little over a year after her father's death, Schjerfbeck graduated from the Finnish Art Society drawing school. She continued her education, with Westermarck and paid for by Professor Georg Asp [fi], at a private academy run by Adolf von Becker, which utilised the University of Helsinki drawing studio. There, Becker himself taught her French oil painting techniques.[1] In 1879, at the age of 17, Schjerfbeck won third prize in a competition organised by the Finnish Art Society, and in 1880 her work was displayed in an annual Finnish Art Society exhibition. That summer Schjerfbeck spent time at Sjundby Manor, owned by her aunt on her mother's side Selma Printz and her husband Thomas Adlercreutz. There she spent time drawing and painting her cousins. Schjerfbeck became particularly close to her cousin Selma Adlercreutz, who was her age. Later in 1880 she set off to Paris after receiving a travel grant from the Imperial Russian Senate