Tillbaka

Bäckefall (eng)

Albert Engström was born here in Bäckefall in 1869. His father and mother both came from priestly families. The mother was a relative of Astrid Lindgrens grandmother on the father´s side. Albert grew up in Hult, where his father worked as a station inspector. He drew much of his inspiration from these areas around Eksjö.

During his studies in Uppsala, Albert befriended the artist Bruno Liljefors. Thanks to Liljefors recommendations, Engström became a student of the painter Carl Larsson at Valand Art School in Gothenburg 1892. He moved to Stockholm a few years later and started working at Söndags Nisse-magazine, where his drawings and text quickly became highly valued. In 1897 he published the first issue of his famous humor magazine Strix.

Today he is best known for his funny and vicious drawings of priests, commoners and peasants. He was also an author (and) who wrote and illustrated many books. In 1922, Engström was elected to the Swedish Academy and in 1925 he became a professor of drawing and graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts.

Albert Engström died in 1940 and is buried at the Hults church cemetery. You can visit Engströmsgården in Hult, and Eksjö is home to a museum with an exhibition about his life and work.