Illustration: Annie Frykholm. Tapestry panels, c1913.
Hand crafted work has always held an important place in the history of the decorative arts in Sweden. Within handcrafts, the textile arts were particularly well served, with a rich history of knit, lace, embroidery, and woven fabrics and tapestry. From one end of Sweden to the other, the variety and skill base of textile work was extraordinary. It was said that each individual parish in the country had its unique style that could identify the geographical area it was produced in. While this might be a slight exaggeration, Sweden does have a rich and varied textile history with obvious regional variations.
What has given Sweden such a large textile format is the use of all the regional textile variations and peculiarities of the country. This has led to the accumulation of an inbuilt vocabulary used by textile artists and designers from the nineteenth century to this day. The textile craft of woven tapestry has, over the last hundred years or so, been turned into a fine art form. In Sweden in particular, some of the most interesting blends of traditional and individual creativity have been achieved. There are a number of well-known Swedish tapestry artists that have managed to thrive, both in their native country and in Europe as a whole, building up an enviable reputation within the textile arts.
Illustration: Annie Frykholm. The Edge of the Wood tapestry, c1913.
Annie Frykholm was one of these Swedish tapestry artists. To be fair Frykholm did not limit herself to tapestry but produced textiles in a number of mediums. She was an important element in the development of innovative tapestry and textile design in Sweden, a development that was to take Swedish design into the contemporary world of the decorative arts of the twentieth century. Without the likes of Frykholm and others who laid the foundation of what we now call Scandinavian Modern, the style would not have been nearly as effective as it became.
There are two tapestries by Frykholm shown here from about 1913, and one that dates to about 1925. All three show us how far Swedish tapestry composition had developed along distinctively creative lines. Although not necessarily strictly original, the work does show a large element of locally sourced inspiration. Frykholm was one of those textile artists that while more than happy to be interested and diverted by the world stage, was also intrigued by the history and vocabulary of her native Sweden. It was this consistent and constant referencing back to the local traditions of the country that has given Swedish textile design such a consistently positive aspect. Many textile artists and designers could learn much from the creative craft roots of their own local landscape and culture.
Illustration: Annie Frykholm. Tapestry design, c1925.
Frykholm herself was involved both in teaching within her native Sweden as well as in exhibiting extensively through various Arts & Crafts exhibitions and organizations which worked tirelessly to expand and rationalise hand production for the twentieth century. Frykholm was also to expand her exhibited tapestry work that could be seen as far afield as Paris and Chicago, which no doubt helped to expand the appeal and popularity of Swedish textile art beyond the confines of the country itself.
Further reading links:
SWEDISH TEXTILE ART: Traditional Marriage Weavings from Scania (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Swedish Textile Art)
Svensk textilkonst =: Swedish textile art (Swedish Edition)
Swedish Textiles 1943 - 1950
Swedish Textiles Today
Swedish Textile Art
Sveriges Folkliga Textilkonst [Swedish Folk Textiles]: utdrag ur Foreningens for Svensk Helmslojd Samlingsverk over Svenska Allmogetextilier
Takhimlar och Brudhandskar (Swedish Folk Textiles)
