John Bauer (1882 - 1918)

Nationality

Sweden

Place of Birth

Jönköping, Sverige

Place of Death

Vättern, Sverige

Biography

John Bauer was a Swedish painter and illustrator, best known for his fairy tale subjects, often representing forests and trolls. Bauer was born in Jönköping in 1882 and moved to Stockholm at the age of sixteen to study at the Technical School (now Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design), Althin’s School of Painting, and later the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. Bauer’s art was influenced by his travels, including his trips to Lapland and Germany. The journeys inspired his illustrations, and his breakthrough came in 1907 when he started to illustrate a popular collection of fairy tales entitled “Among Gnomes and Trolls” (Swedish: “Bland Tomtar och Troll”). Bauer’s popular pictures have had a major impact on Swedish storytelling ever since. Bauer was married to the artist Ester Ellqvist-Bauer. The couple and their son tragically drowned in a boating accident on Lake Vättern in 1918.