Independent Visions

Independent Visions: Helene Schjerfbeck and Her Contemporaries, from the Collection of Ateneum, Finnish National Gallery, an exhibition presenting fifty-five works by four celebrated Finnish artists, open now at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, in New York City. The exhibition highlights the pioneering role of these artists at the end of the 19th century and in the early decades of the 20th: Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946), Sigrid Schauman (1877–1979), Ellen Thesleff (1869–1954), and Elga Sesemann (1922–2007). Coinciding with the year long celebration of the centennial anniversary of Finland’s independence from Russia, the exhibition provides a rich opportunity for American audiences to engage with these influential Finnish painters.