Gustaf Fjæstad

Gustaf Adolf Fjæstad was a painter and graphic artist, whose wife was the textile artist Mary Fjæstad (1873-1961). Gustaf studied at the Art Academy in Stockholm between 1889-92 without graduating, before he became an assistant of Bruno Liljefor. In 1897 Fjæstad moved to Värmland, where he spent most of his life, and founded the Racken Group of artists, named after the Racken lake near Arvika. There he also joined theosophical groups. Fjæstad is counted among the most important Swedish painters, especially for his winter landscapes. They helped him make his artistic breakthrough at the age of 30. As an avid athlete, Fjæstad competed in speed skating and cycling at a national level, winning the first “Mälaren Runt” Race in Stockholm in 1892, 20 years later the course of the Olympic cycling road race. In 1891 he set a world record in speed skating over one mile.

His painting Skridskoåkare (Skater) appeared on the cover of a book about “Sport in Värmland” from 1983. Not clearly identified is the painting On the track. It is probably one of his numerous pictures of ski tracks in the snow. For instance, Skidspår i nysnö (Ski tracks in fresh snow), an oil painting on a panel sized 109 x 122 cm, was created in 1936, the year of the Olympics.