This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
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Barbro Nilsson (1899–1983) was a Swedish textile artist, designer, and educator who played a decisive role in the development of modern Swedish textile art during the mid-twentieth century. Born in Malmö, she trained in Stockholm. She emerged as one of the most influential figures in the transition from pictorial and historicist textile traditions to a restrained, modernist textile language suited to contemporary architecture and public space.
Nilsson worked closely with Märta Måås-Fjetterström and, following Måås-Fjetterström’s death in 1941, became artistic director of the AB Märta Måås-Fjetterström workshop in Båstad, a position she held from 1942 until 1971. Under her leadership, the workshop maintained its international reputation while moving decisively toward a simplified, modern idiom. Disciplined composition, abstracted natural motifs, and a refined understanding of colour, structure, and material characterise Nilsson’s designs.
She worked fluently across techniques, including flat weave, flossa, rya, and high-pile constructions, adapting traditional methods to modern architectural and spatial contexts rather than treating them as historical ends in themselves.
Education – Barbro Nilsson
Between 1913 and 1917, Nilsson studied weaving at Brunssons vävskola in Stockholm under Johanna Brunsson and Alma Jakobsson. She continued her studies at Tekniska skolan and Konstfackskolan from 1917 to 1920, then completed advanced training at the Högre konstindustriella skolan from 1920 to 1924.
Her education combined technical mastery with compositional training, placing her firmly within the modernist reform of Swedish applied arts education in the early twentieth century.
Biography – Barbro Nilsson
From 1919 to 1941, Nilsson worked as an instructor at Brunssons vävskola, contributing to the training of a new generation of textile artists and designers. In 1924–25, she served as director and chief instructor, alongside Maria Nordenfelt, at the Crafts and Design Seminar in Gothenburg.
During the 1920s, she also taught at several institutions, including the Konstindustriella skolan (day and evening divisions) in Stockholm. She worked as a visiting instructor at Konstfackskolan and the Kunsthåndværkerskolen in Copenhagen. These appointments positioned her as a central pedagogical figure in Scandinavian textile education.
In 1927, Nilsson established her own workshop in Stockholm. From 1942 onward, as artistic director of AB, she oversaw the production of carpets and monumental textiles for private, institutional, and public commissions. During the 1940s–1960s in particular, her work formed part of a broader integration of textile art into modern public interiors, where woven works were commissioned to complement architecture in concrete, glass, steel, and stone.
The Litteris et Artibus Medal is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, then the Crown Prince. It is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to music, theatrical performance, literature, and other fields. This medal is a recognition of exceptional artistic and cultural achievements in Sweden. King Carl XVI, Gustaf of Sweden, continues to present this medal for special societal merits and outstanding creative contributions.
Recognition – Barbro Nilsson
Nilsson received the Litteris et Artibus Medal in 1948 and the Prince Eugen Medal in 1954, recognising her outstanding artistic and cultural contributions.
Her work was included in the influential travelling exhibition Design in Scandinavia (USA, 1954–1957), and she exhibited at key international and national design events, including H55 in Helsingborg (1955) and Formes Scandinaves at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (1958). These exhibitions helped establish Swedish textile design as a central component of post-war Scandinavian modernism.
Historical Significance
Recent textile scholarship further clarifies Nilsson’s importance not only as a designer but also as a structural figure in modern Swedish textile culture. She is increasingly recognised as a key mediator between craft tradition and modern abstraction, particularly through her influence as an educator at Konstfack and her leadership at the Märta Måås-Fjetterström workshop.
Rather than abandoning technique, Nilsson insisted on precision, material knowledge, and compositional restraint. Her approach helped shape a generation of textile artists who would later work in abstract and non-figurative idioms, especially in large-scale public commissions.
Sources
A Treasury of Scandinavian Design. (1961). United States: Golden Press.
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Design in Sweden. (1977). Sweden: Swedish Institute.
European Vintage Rugs 1920’s – 1950’s – by Nader Bolour. (n.d.). (n.p.): Doris Leslie Blau.
Nilsson Polet, M. (2022). Vävd konst : En studie i Viveka Nygrens textila verk och den abstrakta textilkonstscenen (Dissertation). Retrieved from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-477360
Nilsson Polet, M. (2023). Liturgisk textil och modernitet : En undersökning av sakrala textilier i en modernistisk kyrkorumskontext år 1960. (Dissertation). Retrieved from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-518913
Pendergast, S. (1997). Contemporary Designers. United Kingdom: St. James Press.
Wollin, N. G. (1952). Swedish Textiles, 1943-1950. United Kingdom: F. Lewis.
To explore works by Swedish textile artist Barbro Nilsson, visit her artist profile on Artnet, which features a selection of her tapestries and auction results.
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