Gordon Macfie 1910-1971
Gordon Andrew Macfie was born in Ljung, Bohuslän on 7th September 1910. He was a Swedish painter and illustrator.
Macfies family had emigrated from Scotland in 1845 - His father was the writer, adventurer and explorer Harry Andrew Macfie (1879-1956)
Gordon Macfie attended the Valand art school (Valands målarskola) in Gothenburg (1936-1940) where he studied under the Swedish painter Sigfrid Ullman (1886-1960) and painter and sculptor Nils Nilsson (1901-1949). Macfie continued his studies at the Royal Institute of Art (Konsthögskolan) in Stockholm (1941-1946). In 1947, Macfie spent a year at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London where he studied graphic design. As a student, Macfie took study trips to Scotland and the Hebrides, France and Spain.
Macfie first exhibited in a Swedish Public Art Association Exhibition in 1942. As a result of this exhibition he was included in the National Museums (Nationalmuseum) group exhibition Unga Tecknare (Young Illustrators) in Stockholm that same year. In 1945, Macfie exhibited at the Lorensbergs art salon (Lorensbergs konstsalong) exhibition De 7 Unga (The 7 young) in Gothenburg (20th January to 4th February 1945). The other six artists were John Berg, Arne Klingborg, May Ekman, Ingegerd Linder, Ulf Johansson, and Willy Gordon. Macfie frequently exhibited at the Färg och Form (Colour and Shape) Gallery in Stockholm (1942, 1952, 1957 and 1967) - See Below.
As an illustrator, Macfie produced numberous covers for the Swedish business magazine Industria (1905-1972), the Dagens Nyheter newspapers Sunday suppliments and three of his fathers books - Drivved (1945), Norrskenets män (1954) and Minnen med krut (1955). Macfie was also a keen sailer and, most notably, illustrated Sails Through the Centuries by Sam Svensson and The Book of Ships Laurence Dunn.
Macfies first marriage, to the artist Aina Erikson-Enckell (1912-2006), ended in divorce. He then married Margareta Wilhelmina Elisabeth Knutsdotter Reuterswärd (1915-1995)
Examples of Macfies work are held in The King's Collection (Konungens samling), the National Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (Moderna Museet) and National Maritime Museum (Statens Sjöhistoriska) in Stockholm, as well as the Uddevalla and Bohusläns museums. Macfie was a member of the Artists' Organization (Konstnärernas Riksorganisation) and Gothenburg artist's club (Göteborgs konstnärsklubb).
Gordon Macfie died in Stockholm on 8th September 1971, aged 61.
Färg och Form (Colour and Shape) Gallery
Färg och Form was an exhibition space in Stockholm where artists were able to sell their works directly to buyers. Establised in 1932 by fourteen painters and sculptors, the original group included Bror Hjorth, Vera Nilsson, Sven Erixson and Gunnar Svenson. The gallery was named after the acclaimed (1913) overview of modern painting by the Swedish writer and critic August Brunius (1879-1926). In April 1935 the gallery was reported to the police for the wounding of discipline and morality. After 70 years, The Gallery closed, after 70 years, in June 2002.
