Henry Ericsson (1898-1933)
decorator and painter
Henry Ericsson studied at the department of decorative painting at the Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1915 to 1918. He originally meant to apply to study at the School of the Finnish Fine Arts Association in the same building with a career as a painter in mind, but he entered the wrong door by mistake and enrolled in the Central School of the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design. He noticed his error later, but adapted to the situation. Ericsson later studied painting in Italy on several occasions in the 1920s. He was a versatile artist active in both applied and other areas of art, but his career lasted only slightly more than a decade, ending in the autumn of 1933 in a tragic car accident that claimed his life and those of this wife Marquita (née Björnberg) and another couple, who were their friends.
Ericsson was given his first tasks in applied art in 1920 as a conscript in Mikkeli, where he designed furniture for the military base. He was also asked to design a sword of honour that was given to General Mannerheim.
In 1925, Ericsson designed the hall of honour of the Finnish department for the International Exhibition of Applied Art in Paris upon the request of the architect Gustaf Strengell. He prepared the architectural design, chose the exhibits and painted the ceiling murals of the hall. In recognition of his achievements, the French state gave him the honorary title of Officier de l´ Instruction Publique. Murals became one of Ericsson’s special fields. He painted the murals of the Fregatti restaurant in Helsinki in 1927 and in 1929 the murals of the Fennia hotel and restaurant, which took as their themes the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights. He also painted decorations for churches (Töölö Church in Helsinki in 1929-1930), meeting rooms and private residences (Baumgartner house in Loviisa, 1928). He also made stained-glass paintings for the Hall of Remembrance of the Museum of Ostrobothnia in Vaasa (1930), the Chapel of the Helsinki Tuberculosis Hospital (1930) and other locations.
In 1928, in the middle of Finland’s period of prohibition, the Riihimäki Glassworks staged a competition for the design of a wine and liqueur glassware set. The winner was Henry Ericsson, who went on to become a freelance designer for the glassworks. The most famous of these items was the so-called Barcelona Bowl, a gift from the City of Helsinki to the City of Barcelona for the Barcelona World’s Fair of 1929. Ericsson designed three other engraved glass bowls for the world’s fair and a silver bowl that was given on behalf of the President of Finland to the King of Spain. Silver items designed by Ericsson for churches were also on show at the world’s fair.
Henry Ericsson also worked in graphic art and book illustration. He expressed the traumatic experiences of the Finnish Civil War of 1918 in his graphics of the late 1920s. Together with his friend Topi Vikstedt, he illustrated Eino Suolahti’s book Elämää Suomessa 1700-luvulla (Life in Finland in the 18th century), and he also drew cartoons for the satirical magazine Kerberos. He drew covers for the Domus magazine and the Ornamo design association’s yearbook.
Ericsson was also interested in the theatre. He designed a few sets for the National Theatre and the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki and costumes for at least two plays, receiving critical acclaim for these works. According to his son, Christoffer Ericsson, Henry Ericsson’s last years were marked by a growing orientation towards painting, in connection with which he painted in the Åland Islands in the summer of 1932 and in the autumn of the year he went on a long study trip to Italy.
Henry Ericsson’s versatile talents are also revealed by the fact that he personally designed a house and studio for his family in Helsinki’s Kulosaari. The house with its rock garden was built in 1928.
Auli Suortti-Vuorio
Bibliography
Henry Ericsson 1898-1933. Näyttely Mikkelin taidemuseossa 3.12.1983-15.1.1984. Näyttelyluettelo. Mikkeli 1983.
Brummer, Arttu, Henry Ericsson 6.2.1898-16.10.1933. Ornamon VI vuosikirja. 1933.
Siltavuori, Eeva, The versatile Henry Ericsson: Promise, legend and a shooting star. Form Function Funland vol. 1/1984
Photos:
The Barcelona Bowl (The Riihimäki Glassworks 1929)
The best-known glass items designed by Henry Ericsson is the so-called Barcelona Bowl, a gift from the City of Helsinki to the City of Barcelona in the connection with the Barcelona World’s Fair in the autumn of 1929. The Barcelona Bowl has a lid and includes a pedestal 67 cm high. It was engraved by Teodor Käppi. The engravings present a scene from Helsinki’s South Harbour. The coats of arms of the cities of Helsinki and Barcelona are engraved on the lid. In addition, Barcelona, of the south, is symbolized by a woman carrying fruit and the northern Helsinki by a man carrying boards. Owing to its visual themes, the bowl has also been called the Helsinki Bowl. Photo Design Museum
The H.E. tableware (The Riihimäki Glassworks 1928)
In 1928, in the midst of prohibition in Finland, the Riihimäki Glassworks held a competition for the design of wine and liqueur glassware. The winner was Henry Ericsson with a set of tableware consisting of nine wine and liqueur glasses, a cheese-dish cover with a plate, a fruit bowl and carafes for spirits and wine. Made of sodium glass, the mould-blown set was produced until the 1950s. Photo Aimo Hyvärinen / Design Museum
Coffee service (Oy Taito Ab 1931-1933)
An example of Henry Ericsson’s versatility in applied art is a silver coffee service which he designed for the Taito company in the early 1930s. Ericsson also designed silverware for churches and the so-called King’s Vase, a gift from the President of Finland to the King of Spain at the opening of the Barcelona World’s Fair. Photo Aarne Pietinen / Design Museum
