Elsie Landström, born in 1931 in Odensala in Uppland, is an artist working with drawing and painting, most famous for her pastel drawings. The exhibition features Landström’s sketchbooks from the museum’s collection, primarily from the 1950s. We encounter a consistent and original artistic expression with a strong emotional impact. Her drawings display a great accuracy in color and form. In Landström’s images, there is a pronounced sense of movement and a delicate lightness in the line. The figures are often lively dancers, but sometimes sitting, contemplating or observing. The individuals are usually women and children. The focus lies on human beings. There is a psychological depth to the images, where the expressive bodies and eyes of the figures capture the viewer. We can also see an exciting play with colours and an exploration of the possibilities of pastel crayons.
Elsie Landström is mainly self-taught but studied in the early 1950s with Carl Kylberg and at Signe Barth’s art school in Stockholm. She participated in the National Museum’s exhibition “Young Drawers” in 1951 and had her first solo exhibition at the Kalmar Art Museum in 1953. The same year, she created an appreciated poster for Rädda barnen (Save the Children Sweden).
Elsie Landström has also exhibited at Gallery S:t Nicolaus (1955), Gallery Greven (1981), Teckningsmuseet (2003), and Gallery Englanejd (2007). She is also represented at the Kalmar Museum.