Maj Arnell 1910-2005
Maj Vilma Arnell (nee Nilsson) was born on 30th April 1910 in Gothenburg. She was a Swedish artist heavily influenced by the Gothenburg Colourists (Göteborgskoloristerna) - a group of artists, most of whom studied under Tor Bjurström (1888 - 1966) between 1920 and 1929 at the Gothenburg Drawing School (now the Valand School of Fine Art).
Arnell studied at the Valand Academy (Akademin Valand) between 1940 and 1945 and in 1953 became a teacher at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen.
Arnells first solo exhibition was in Gothenburg in 1948. She exhibited regularly in her home town of Gothenburg as well as Stockholm and Malmo - Exhibitions include Gummessons, Stockholm (1952), Little Gallery, Stockholm (1964) Holm Gallery, Malmö (1974), Blanche Gallery, Stockholm (1975), Gallery Avenue, Gothenburg (1977), Gallery Axlund, Stockholm (1987 and 1991), the Art Gallery, Gothenburg (1990).
Arnell also exhibited abroad at the Galeria d'Arte Moderne, Ancona, Italy (1968), Galerie Mouffe, Paris, France (1969), Galerie Vallombreuse, Biarritz, France (1970) and Galerie Internationale, New York, USA (1971).
Arnell painted throughout her life and was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at the Prince Eugen Waldemarsudde museum in central Stockholm 1995. A memorial exhibition was held for her in Gothenburg in 2013.
Examples of Arnells work are held at the National Museum and the Museum of Modern Art (Moderna Museet) in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Museum of Art and museums in Malmö, Borås and Kristianstad.
Arnell married Helge Arnell (1893-1956) in 1933 and was the mother of three children.
She died in Gothenburg on 10th June 2005.