Ernst Norlind

The decisive turn in his life came through his companion Hanna Larsdotter, whom he had met around 1902. They moved together to her estate, Borgeby Castle outside Lomma in Skane, in 1904, and married in 1907. The castle became both his studio and a cultural salon: Rainer Maria Rilke, Edvard Persson, Anders Österling, Tora Vega Holmström, Axel Törneman and many other Scandinavian and European intellectuals stayed there over the years. Norlind himself was not only a painter and graphic artist but also a violinist and, in the 1940s, a radio storyteller. He debuted as a writer with the poetry collection Dikter in 1907 and followed it with an extensive output of prose and plays.

As a painter Norlind was rooted above all in the landscape of Skane. His early work was characterized by dark, tonally restrained canvases with a limited palette. From around 1925 his colors became livelier and more varied, and he increasingly added figures to his landscapes and turned to still life. His graphic work returned repeatedly to bird subjects, particularly the stork, which was closely associated with the flat wetlands around Borgeby. Storks in marsh settings, rendered in oil on panel, became something close to a signature motif.

Norlind is represented in the collections of Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Malmö Museum, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth. The Hanna and Ernst Norlind Foundation continues to maintain Borgeby Castle.

On the Nordic auction market Norlind appears primarily at Skane-based houses, consistent with the regional character of his life and subject matter: Skånes Auktionsverk, Limhamns Auktionsbyrå, and Helsingborgs Auktionskammare are among the leading venues. On Auctionist, 33 lots have been catalogued. The top result stands at 15,734 SEK for a beach scene with figures, while stork paintings in oil on panel have sold in the range of 1,600–3,100 SEK, reflecting solid demand for his most characteristic motifs.