The Artist´s Home conceptIn several places in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe there is a special kind of museum known as the Artist?s Home. Artist´s Homes are built by an artist or an artist couple, and are often found in rural settings.
The Artist´s Home, which - in addition to residential quarters - contained a workplace and a large garden, was purposefully furnished and decorated by the artists, who sometimes even created the furniture and textiles themselves. The home itself finally became a kind of work of art.
In some cases, the artists also acquired art collections. After the death of the founders, the Artist´s Home, together with its furnishings and the works and collection of the artists, becomes a museum.
Many Artist?s Homes in SwedenWell-known Artist´s Homes in Sweden include Sundborn, which was Carl and Karin Larsson´s farm in Dalarna, Zorngården, built by Anders and Emma Zorn, also in Dalarna, and Millesgården, built by Carl and Olga Milles on Lidingö. There are many more in Sweden. Artist´s Homes were not only built by artists, but by architects and authors, as well.
Watercolor painting of Millesgården by Carl M Bengtsson (1908) and the finished building on the rugged cliff (ca 1910)
In his book, Millesgården, arkitektur och trädgård (Stockholm 2004), architecture historian Anders Bergström writes that the Artist´s Home became a concept at the end of the nineteenth century. Publications described ideas about how such a home should be designed, and well-known examples were found all over Europe. In an Artist´s Home, the artists could work with their art, and at the same time enjoy a life with their family. A garden next to the house offered them a chance to experience the beauty of nature, while providing fruits and vegetables to the household.
Some Artist´s Homes eventually developed into museums, while others were created as tourist attractions from the very beginning. Carl Milles?s biographer, Erik Näslund, cites a letter from Carl Milles to his fiancée, Olga Granner, written in 1901 in which the artist discusses the creation of a museum (Carl Milles - en biografi, Näslund, Höganäs 1991), as evidence that the thought of a museum was already part of Carl Milles´s vision at the inception of Millesgården in 1908-09.
At about the same time, Carl Milles wrote to a good friend that he wished to decorate his house so that it would be an attraction in Sweden. He characterizes that desire as the obligation of an artist, particularly, as, Milles adds, if the artist does not have children. (Letter to Hjalmar Wijk, January 1908, from Erik Näslund?s book, Carl Milles - en biografi, p. 126).
Displaying sculptures in their appropriate settings
For a sculptor like Carl Milles, a beautiful home with an equally magnificent garden afforded the opportunity to display his sculptures. Here, prospective purchasers could see these works in their appropriate settings. The Artist´s Home became a personal showroom.
Carl Milles on the upper terrace of Millesgården in the 1940s
Millesgården grows
Carl and Olga Milles never had any children. Thus, they never experienced raising a growing family in their Artist´s Home. Millesgården itself, however, did grow. Carl Milles was able to recast the sculptures he had sold from the plaster models that he kept. He placed these sculptures on the grounds, which gradually grew into a sculpture garden.
In the decade following 1910, Carl and Olga Milles also began collecting older art, first medieval wooden sculptures, and later classical sculptures primarily from Greece and Italy. Carl Milles spoke of his collections as a constant source of inspiration and knowledge.
Carl Milles and his Antiquity Collection, 1951
The Antiquity Collection today
A museum, as well as an outdoor recreation center
Through its art collections, Millesgården developed into a cultural center. These collections and the sculptor´s own art also presented Carl Milles, the artist, as one of a line of historically important artists.
The lower terrace of Millesgården was built between 1948 and 1955. Carl Milles had ambitious plans for this expansion. His proposals meant that Millesgården would be a museum with various collections, as well as an outdoor recreation center with a roller skating/skating rink and a swimming pool so children and young people would enjoy their visits.
Carl Milles and construction worker Bror Ekqvist during the construction of The Lower Terrace.
The large stairways that were built, especially the Stairway to Heaven, were meant to be used as an open air theatre for plays and concerts. The Artist?s Home had thus developed into a multifaceted cultural center where various art forms could meet. Had Carl Milles been able to garner more support for his visionary proposals for play and recreation, the outdoor recreation center would have also been built.
A piece of land was left vacant until 1999, when the long-planned exhibition hall was built. Here exhibitions of contemporary art are held. By the inclusion of contemporary art, Millesgården has become a cultural center for art through the ages, from 700 B.C. until today.
The award winning The Art Gallery, designed by architect Johan Celsing.
