Bengt Lindström Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Bengt Lindström was born in Storsjökappel, a small village in Norrland, Sweden, on 3 September 1925. A few days after his birth, his godfather, the leader of the local Lapps, administered the baptism of the earth to him, making him pass through the roots of a dead tree, to order to ensure him the protection of the gods against the dangers of life. Read the full biography

Bengt Lindström Biography

Bengt Lindström was born in Storsjökappel, a small village in Norrland, Sweden, on 3 September 1925. A few days after his birth, his godfather, the leader of the local Lapps, administered the baptism of the earth to him, making him pass through the roots of a dead tree, to order to ensure him the protection of the gods against the dangers of life. The child grows up in this immense, harsh and mysterious land covered with lakes and forests where the legends and myths of the Great North hover. At ten years old his parents sent him to school in Härnösand, where he began scientific studies and where he began to paint. In 1944 he enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Stockholm and in 1945 he moved to the School of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, at Aksel Jørgensen. In 1946 he was in Chicago where he attended courses at the Art Institute for a year. In 1947 he arrived in Paris, to Fernanad Léger, then to Montparnasse, to the André Lothe Academy where he met Marie-Louise Boudriot whom he married in 1951. In 1949 he visited Florence and Assisi, remaining fascinated by the frescoes of Giotto and Cimabue. In 1950, a scholarship from a Swedish newspaper allowed him to open his first atelier in the Marne Valley. First group exhibition in 1953 at the Craven Gallery in Paris. First individual exhibition in 1954 at Gummesons Konstgalleri in Stockholm. From these years onwards he usually stays between France and Sweden. In 1955 he also began to try his hand at lithography. In 1958 he exhibited in Paris at the Galerie Breteau, where the "masks", the "gods" and the "monsters" appeared for the first time. In 1959 he took part in “L'Europe nouvelle” in Lausanne. In 1961 he exhibited at the Tooth Gallery in London in a collective exhibition and with a solo show at the Galerie le Zodiaque in Brussels. In 1965 he exhibited in Paris at the Galerie Rive Gauche, in Lille at the Galerie Nord and in Copenhagen at the Galerie Birch. In 1966 he exhibited at the Konstmuseum in Gothenburg. In 1967 he exhibited at the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh and at the Galerie Seibu in Tokyo. From 1968 to 1976 he exhibited annually at the Galerie Ariel for which he created a series of lithographs on Scandinavian mythology. In 1973, an important retrospective of 46 works was held at the Musée Galliéra in Paris, while in 1976 he created two editions of a bronze sculpture entitled “L'enfant sauvage”. In 1981-82 new themes appear such as "characters-landscapes". In 1983 he exhibited in Stockholm at the Historiska Muséet with canvases and gouaches having as their theme the Nordic gods and walkiries. In 1985 he opened a studio in Spain near Alicante. At the same time he worked for the Stockholm Opera to prepare the scenography for Shakespeare's “King Lear”. On this theme he exhibited in Barcelona at the Sala Gaspar Gallery in 1986. In 1987 he illustrated a book with Corneille and exhibited in Paris and Cologne. In 1988 he was invited to Moscow and Seoul for the Olympic Games. In the 90s he stayed in Milan for a long time, exhibiting at the San Carlo gallery and in Rome at the L'Indicatore gallery. In 1993 the "Large Glass" of Murano were presented simultaneously in Italy and Sweden. In the same year he exhibited in Lisbon at Gallery 111 and in Belgium at Guy Pieters. In 1994 he exhibited in Alicante at the Galleria Italia, created two polyester sculptures, “L'Homme” and “La Femme” and created a series of vases and sculptures in Murano. In 1995 he painted a large canvas of 700 m2 and inaugurated a monumental sculpture 30m high. In 1996 he exhibited at the Härnösand museum, in Northern Lapland, on the theme of the Nordic gods and the Vikings, at the Guy Bärtchi gallery in Geneva, at the Quadrado Azul gallery in Porto, Portugal. He creates a 3.5m high concrete sculpture in Sweden which is inaugurated in the presence of the King and Queen.