ArtistSwedish
Lennart Glemme
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Lennart Glemme was born in 1927 in Göteborg, but it was the small coastal town of Västervik in Småland, where he spent much of his childhood, that shaped the visual vocabulary he returned to throughout his life. The harbour streets, timber warehouses, and archipelago waters of that region appear again and again in his prints, giving his work a geographical anchoring that remained consistent even as his technique evolved over decades.
His training was unusually broad for a Swedish graphic artist of his generation. He attended Otte Sköld's painting school in Stockholm in 1946, followed by Eric Clemesen's painting school in Copenhagen in 1948, and the Royal Academy in London in 1953. Between 1951 and 1956 he studied at the graphic school of the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm, where he gained the technical mastery in copper engraving and etching that became the foundation of his practice. This combination of painterly training across several European cities and rigorous printmaking study placed him among the more technically accomplished graphic artists of his time.
After completing his studies, Glemme joined the teaching staff at the Royal University College of Fine Arts' graphic school, where he worked for several decades before stepping down in the 1980s. He became widely regarded as one of Sweden's foremost experts in copper engraving, and his influence extended into the technical infrastructure of the field: he developed a prototype printing press for copper engraving that came to be known among printmakers as the Glemme press. This practical contribution to the craft underscored his commitment to printmaking as a discipline with its own material demands and traditions.
His subjects drew from two main sources: the urban fabric of Stockholm, with its quaysides, old town alleys, and views across the water, and the rural and coastal landscapes of Västervik and the surrounding Tjust archipelago. He illustrated the book "Stapelstad" by Ivar Ahlstedt in 1961 and contributed images to "Västervik i ord och bild" in 1965, both of which document the built and natural environment of the town he grew up near. These illustrated books stand as a record of his documentary impulse alongside his work as a fine art printmaker. In 1972, he received Västerviks-Tidningen's cultural prize in recognition of his contribution to the region's artistic life.
Glemme's works are held in several significant collections, including Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Moderna Museet, and King Gustaf VI Adolf's personal collection, as well as museums in the United States. At auction in Sweden, his prints circulate at modest price levels reflecting the broader secondary market for mid-century Swedish graphic art. Within the Auctionist database, his 15 recorded auction appearances are distributed across houses including Kalmar Auktionsverk and Auktionshuset Thelin and Johansson. The top sale recorded is "Från terrassen - Stockholm" at 550 SEK, with etchings of Stockholm and Västervik motifs typically reaching 200-550 SEK. The works most often appearing are signed and numbered etchings and lithographs from the 1960s through the 1980s.