A pioneer of free textile art

Anna Casparsson (1861-1961) never called herself an artist. She was an excellent pianist and learned to sew at an early age. She sewed clothes for her four children. It was not until she was in her early 60s, after the death of her husband, that Casparsson began to work freely with textiles. Her unusual combinations of materials—she sewed in beads, shells, jewels, and fragments of mirrors, for example—and narrative scenes broke with the conventions of the time and attracted criticism. It was not until around 20 years later, at her first major exhibition in her hometown of Saltsjöbaden in 1945, that the tide turned: Casparsson presented around 50 works, which were particularly well received by younger artists. The now 83-year-old was celebrated in the media as a new discovery, and the Swedish National Museum purchased one of her works. Now, the artist's opulent and detailed work is once again being shown in a solo exhibition: The Isle of Bliss runs from April 25 to September 27 at the Moderna Museet Stockholm.

Anna Casparsson created magnificent motifs inspired by classic fairy tales, biblical stories, and pieces of music. Landscape scenes became textile paintings and folding screens, while she immortalized free compositions on grand piano covers, bags, and tablecloths. In 1960, the Moderna Museet Stockholm, which had opened just two years earlier, dedicated its largest solo exhibition to her at that time – and it was to be the last until 2026. Casparsson's house in Saltsjöbaden near Stockholm was an important meeting place for Swedish cultural figures in the first half of the 20th century, long before she herself became artistically active. Despite her central role in Stockholm's cultural landscape, she was quickly forgotten after her death. Her works were occasionally included in group exhibitions in the second half of the 20th century.

From October 24, 2026, the exhibition will be on display in a slightly modified form at the Moderna Museet Malmö.