Painting Christmas

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Detail of Christmas Eve 1906 Carl Larsson

One of the artists we most associate with Christmas is Carl Larsson. Born in 1853 in Stockholm, Sweden, Larsson grew up in poverty, living in the worst of conditions as a child. His childhood is chronicled in the book Carl Larsson: The Autobiography of Sweden’s Most Beloved Artist. His life was changed by a teacher who urged him to apply to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He took on work as a graphic artist at the newspaper and helped to support his parents.

At 24, Larsson moved to Paris, painting with his Swedish colleagues in a Scandinavian artists’ colony. He met his future wife, Karin Bergöö, also an artist, there. He also began painting in watercolor while living there. His watercolors remain his most celebrated works.

The Larssons returned to Sweden, settling in Sundborn, where they raised a large family. Their picturesque home, village and family were the subjects of many of Larsson’s paintings…