Anna-Lisa Thomson

Anna-Lisa Thomson, ca.1950

Anna-Lisa Thomson's Paprika (1948)

Anna-Lisa Thomson (born September 20, 1905 in Karlskrona ; † February 12, 1952 in Uppsala ) was a Swedish painter , illustrator and ceramist .

Anna-Lisa Thomson received her education at the Konstfack Art School in Stockholm . As one of the first artists with a permanent position, she started at the S: t Eriks Lervarufabrik in Uppsala immediately after completing her training . After two years she was the company's artistic director. In the mid-1930s she came to the porcelain manufacturer Upsala-Ekeby , where she was to change the ceramic direction of the company together with Sven Erik Skawonius and Vicke Lindstrand . Thomsons and Skawonius ornaments made of porcelain received many international awards, including a. in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939.

One of Thomson's best-known works was the Paprika series of vases from 1948, which were made in many different shapes and sizes and were produced well into the 1960s. Paprika consisted of a combination of black, coarse clay with a shiny, white or yellow glaze . That was new for that time. Thomson's work stood out for its simple, pure forms, the motifs were often relief patterns from the plant kingdom .

Anna-Lisa Thomson was also a gifted painter. Her works were naive , inspired by nature, and colorful. When she developed breast cancer in the late 1940s , her motives became muted, dreamy, and fearful. In 1952 she died of her illness. The poetry collection Eko av dagens ljusaklang (Echo of the bright sound of the day) includes illustrations by Anna-Lisa Thomson. The book was published posthumously in 1953 .