I must confess that ‘Moomins’ as collectables had almost completely passed me by. Until that is, I happened to listen in to a radio programme that covered the 100th anniversary of the birth of their Finnish creator, Tove Jansson. Now it would seem that every time I mention Moomins to someone they respond with, ‘Oh yes, I know several people that collect them.’
So, to make up for lost time, this week I have been delving into the world of these delightful creatures, and their talented creator, Tove Jansson.
Jansson was a pictorial artist and author whose first book was published in 1945. Today her books have been translated into 44 languages, and the first TV animation, created in 1969, has since been aired in over 100 countries.
To mark the anniversary special ‘Jansson 100 centenary’ events will be held throughout the year, across many countries, including the UK.
Throughout her life, Tove Jansson, who died in 2001 at aged 86, demonstrated a multi-faceted creative talent, becoming one of the key artists in Finnish visual art during the post-war golden age of modernism.
Most widely known for having created the Moomins, her immense international success has made her one of the best-known Finnish artists in the world.
Born in the Katjanokka district of Helsinki Jansson grew up in an artist family whose open-minded and bohemian home atmosphere encouraged her to search for her own artistic expression. Her modeling assignments for her father, who was a well known sculptor, included modeling for the bronze sculpture ‘Convolvulus’ in Kaisaniemi Park, and for the mermaid in the sculpture ‘Water Nymphs’, which can be seen next to the Espa Stage in Esplanade Park.
Jansson went on to study art in Stockholm and Helsinki, in addition to seeking inspiration from Paris and Italy.
At the age of 30, she rented an attic studio in the heart of Helsinki, which soon became the home where she lived and worked in the autumn and winter. She would spend her summers on the tiny island of Klovharu in the Gulf of Finland; her love of the sea can be seen in the diversity of her art.
She occupied her turret studio for 60 years, and it was here, that she created her most renowned paintings and texts, and where she completed her first book featuring Moomintroll.
The first Moomin book,The Moomins and the Great Flood, appeared in 1945, published in Swedish and illustrated by Jansson herself. The book introduced Moomintroll and the others inhabitants of Moomin Valley, kick starting a series that became the most visible and widely known aspect of her artistic career.
The Moomins are a tight-knit family — hippo-shaped creatures with easygoing and adventurous outlooks. The artwork on the comic strips is pared down and precise in composition, but provides beautiful portraits of ambling creatures in fields of flowers or rock-strewn beaches that are reminiscent of their Nordic background.
The comic strip found its audience amongst adults that continue to appreciate its gentle, droll, and yet whimsical sense of humour. House guests who overstay their welcome, modern art, movie stars, and high society; all topics that have captured the imagination of an international audience.
Of interest to collectors of Moomin memorabilia, which includes a plethora of kitchenalia, pictures, ornaments, mugs books, and so much more........
London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts is hosting an exhibition this year, presenting original unseen photographs and material relating to her life and work, along with illustrated books and early first editions.
Examples of her Moomin comic strips published by the London Evening News in the 1950s and syndicated across the globe that helped make the Moomins a worldwide success will also be on show.
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