Carl Larsson

Carl Larsson was a Swedish painter best loved for warm, sunny watercolors of his own family home. Born in Stockholm in 1853 into poverty, he worked his way up to become one of Sweden's most cherished artists. He is best known for a series of light-filled interiors and garden scenes showing his wife, children, and cozy country house, images that helped shape an ideal of happy, wholesome Swedish home life.

Those bright, decorative watercolors, published in popular books, influenced Scandinavian design and the clean, cheerful look still associated with it today. He also painted large historical murals, though he considered his home scenes his truest work. Larsson's affectionate pictures of everyday family life remain enormously popular in Sweden and beyond.