About the artist…

Whilst his siblings studied Latin and algebra, Bengt Elde painted. Bengt, the man who loved Swedish Gustafskorv sausage, soccer, and lyricist Evert Taube. But most of all Bengt loved to paint. An empty sheet of paper made his fingers itch and his heart pound.

Bengt’s schooling was different than most. Whilst his schoolmates were practicing figures, calligraphy, and drawing from models, he focused on his calling, eager to fill his life canvas with poetic, fresh, and absurd motifs. To support his dreams, Elde worked at the local hospital by night, and painted during the day. Many a day one could find him asleep by his canvas, brush held tightly in one hand.

Today, he is picture painter Bengt Elde. Not “artist,” which sound pretentious and ceremonious. Bengt believes that art should be consumed and likens the experience to supermarket shopping; “One Gustavskorv, ˝ gallon milk, one Elde painting, and a pound of butter.”

Elde has not restricted his painting to the canvas. One can easily find his work on a tin of herring, a cast iron frying pan, and even a shovel. The works themselves? They evolved from simple, whimsical renditions of Swedish life to include his trademark horse, which today, can be found on virtually every painting.

“He paints like an infant prodigy,” said one newspaper critic. More than anything, this is what defines Bengt Elde…a large, colorful child. To fill an empty canvas with life is Elde’s biggest adventure.

Bengt Elde lives in Stockholm.  When he is not painting, he can be found playing soccer or taking a swim in the lake.