ArtistSwedish
Eric Sigfrid Persson
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Eric Sigfrid Persson was born on 24 January 1898 in Tomelilla, a small town in the Skåne countryside, and died on 31 July 1983 in Hörby. His path into construction began early and through manual apprenticeships: he trained as a carpenter in Kverrestad from 1911 to 1914, worked as a mason's apprentice in Tomelilla between 1915 and 1917, and completed his formal builder's certification in Copenhagen in 1921 after studies at Haslev dagskole in Denmark. That Danish training connected him to the Scandinavian modernist tradition at a formative moment.
By the 1930s, Persson had established himself in Malmö as one of Sweden's most forward-thinking builder-developers within functionalism. He was not an architect by title but operated with architect-level ambition, appointing architects himself and driving projects that went beyond standard housing development. His residential areas Malmgården (1934-1935) and Ribershus (1937-1938) were followed by his most significant project, Friluftstaden (the Open Air City), built between 1942 and 1948. This scheme was laid out in parallel strips of terraced housing with a north-south orientation, designed to give residents direct contact with earth, nature, sun, and air in the middle of a growing city. Persson had been influenced by visits to New York and American suburbs, which convinced him that high-rise development was the wrong model for urban life.
Alongside his building work, Persson was also a painter and draughtsman, working in watercolour, pastel, and oil. His painted subjects carried a humorous approach to folk motifs alongside more conventional landscapes. He also contributed drawings and illustrations to Skånska Dagbladet. This dual practice as builder and visual artist was not unusual in the Scandinavian context of his generation, where craft, design, and fine art were more continuously connected than they would later become.
Late in his career, from the early 1970s until his death, Persson turned to furniture design. Working with the manufacturer Möbelkultur AB in Hörby and later Expo Nord, he developed pieces in extruded aluminium that brought the same interest in structural clarity and honest materials that had defined his architecture. The most recognised of these is the "Lysmasken" (Glowworm) lounge chair, a reclining form whose continuous aluminium frame creates a flowing, seamless base. He also produced the "Flytande design" (Floating design) series, including a four-seat sofa, and the "Grand Sitting" easy chair. These pieces were made in relatively small production runs, which contributes to their scarcity and collector interest today.
On the auction market tracked by Auctionist, Persson's furniture commands significantly higher prices than his paintings. A "Lysmasken" lounge chair has sold for 18,700 SEK and a second example reached 9,618 EUR at a European sale, placing it among the more sought-after pieces of Swedish 1970s design. His paintings - village scenes, winter motifs, and townscapes on canvas or panel - appear more modestly, typically selling below 500 SEK. The auction record appears mainly at Crafoord Auktioner Malmö and Garpenhus Auktioner, with Bukowskis handling the higher-value furniture lots.