Millesgården

"Angel Musician" by Carl Milles

Indian Head

Carl Milles' hearty desire was to bring his works of art to the public realm and to bring people to his art. This is evident all around Millesgården where sculptures are all integrated elements of a whole. The united sequence of chambers of different sizes, forms, colors, and atmospheres are subtly settled in a sublime public garden delicately enriched with a plethora of heavenly figures. Columns, the beloved elements of Milles, are present allaround the garden together with other reminders of Roman art and architecture. Paintings of Carl's wife, Olga Milles are also on display at Millesgården, located in Lidingö north of Stockholm.

God's Hand

There are two major characteristics that differentiate Milles' work from his contemporary artists: firstly, they have been designed and articulated as installations to be placed in specific locations either in the garden or in the outside world. Those not installed in their intended settings, for any reason, have been assigned a new location and role in the domestic constellation of Milles' works in Millesgården. Moreover, Milles hardly believed in any virtue for originality and uniqueness of the works of art. He used to produce his works in numbers and shrewdly marketed and sold them. Some of his most well-known works have not even been made by himself. "God our Father on the Rainbow" installed in Nacka Strand, for example, was crafted by one of his pupils years after the original bronze model eventually failed to be developed into the monument for peace for the United Nations building.

The last crystal clear and sunny Saturday in Stockholm was a timely opportunity for us to make a visit to Millesgården together with a number of members of SIRAP. An informative guided tour around the garden by Katja Stemme and an exhibition of the impressionist collection, "Painters in Normandy" complemented our visit.