Nils Nilsson

Nils Nilsson was born in Gothenburg where he grew up before the family moved to Malmö. He trained as a chisel and studied painting for Jules Schyl in Malmö and Fredrik Krebs in Lund. Then followed studies for Tor Bjurström at Valand's painting school 1922–1927 but also in Paris for Per Krohg. After the Valand era, Nilsson moved to Malmö and got his breakthrough with an exhibition at Svensk-franska konstgalleriet in Stockholm in 1935. In Gothenburg he was commissioned to paint a fresco for the Higher General Educational Agency for girls. In 1938 he took up the position as director of Valand's painting school, which he held until 1947. Nilsson is counted among the Gothenburg colourists, whose imagery is characterized by buoyant colour. His images are figurative and occasionally deal with contemporary subjects as refugees in Europe during the war. Kristoffer Arvidsson