ArtistSwiss-Swedish
Hans Arnold
1 active items
In the small Catholic town of Sursee, Switzerland, a boy grew up drawing caricatures of his teachers and selling them to classmates. Born on 22 April 1925, Hans Arnold received a strict religious upbringing steeped in vivid imagery of heaven and hell. In 1947, at the age of 22, Arnold left Switzerland for Sweden, settling in Stockholm, where he would live and work for the rest of his life.
Arnold's breakthrough came in 1954 when VeckoRevyn began publishing "Veckans chock" (Shock of the Week), a series of illustrated short horror stories. Over 25 years he produced more than 250 illustrations for the series. His style was unmistakable: everyday objects and domestic scenes rendered in meticulous detail, then twisted into something unsettling and strange.
Yet horror was only one dimension of Arnold's output. He became one of Sweden's most prolific illustrators of children's literature, contributing to "Bland tomtar och troll." His illustrations for Astrid Lindgren's "Allrakäraste syster" proved his range. In 1967, he created "Matulda och Megasen," a popular animated television program. He also worked as a scenographer at the Royal Opera. Perhaps his most widely seen single image is the cover artwork for ABBA's Greatest Hits album.
A 2019 documentary, "Hans Arnold, Penselns häxmästare," explored his life and career. Rights & Brands now manages his portfolio of over 2,000 illustrations. He died on 25 October 2010 in Stockholm at the age of 85.
On the auction market, Arnold's works appear at Swedish houses, with 104 items recorded. The largest concentration is at Auktionshuset Kolonn (42 lots). Notable results include "Fjättrad" at 7,690 SEK and "Figurkomposition" at 5,900 SEK.