THE COTTAGE IN SNOW. Watercolour, Carl Larsson, 1909.
With the words “War välkommen kära du till Carl Larsson och hans fru”, the artist couple invite friends and celebrities to their home, Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn, also known as the Carl Larsson House. The home is renowned for its creative style and innovative interior design. Even during Carl and Karin’s lifetime, people made pilgrimages to Lilla Hyttnäs. They wanted to experience the setting that attracted such attention. To this day, the family still celebrates holidays at the house. You are warmly welcome to visit and step into the world that is so central to Carl and Karin’s shared creative work.
PHOTO: Carl Larsson House.
The small log cabin Lilla Hyttnäs in the early 1890s, when Carl and Karin had begun transforming the home.
The Lilla Hyttnäs property came into Karin’s family as early as 1875, when Karin’s father Adolf Bergöö bought it for his widowed mother and for his sisters, Ulla and Maria. When Ulla died in 1888, Maria moved out, and Lilla Hyttnäs was transferred to Karin and Carl on the condition that they deposit a sum corresponding to the property’s value into the children’s savings accounts. It was not only the little cottage that the artist couple fell for, but also the wonderfully beautiful location close to nature and water.
PHOTO: Carl Larsson House.
Lilla Hyttnäs with the newly built first studio. Carl stands in the doorway; Karin is with the children by the donkey and cart. The studio later becomes Karin’s workroom.
The house was extended in stages and came to encompass several different styles, from Old Norse to influences from England and Japan. The exterior reflects the phases of expansion and is a mix of log construction and half-timbering. The new studio, with a light beige roughcast façade and a sheet-metal roof, was built at an angle to the old house and inaugurated in 1899. It is one of Scandinavia’s largest studios, purpose-built for large wall paintings.
MY STUDIO IN SUNDBORN / IN THE STUDIO.
Watercolour, Carl Larsson, 1911.
MY STUDIO IN SUNDBORN / IN THE STUDIO. Watercolour, Carl Larsson, 1911.
Carl Larsson’s large studio was built to give him space to work on monumental commissions at home in Sundborn. The bright studio is characterised by large windows and a bold colour scheme in orange-red and green. The text frieze on the walls up by the ceiling encourages diligence, hope and work.
SEVENTEEN YEARS. Watercolour, Carl Larsson, 1902.
LISBETH IN SUNDBORN COSTUME. Watercolour, Carl Larsson, 1908.
SUZANNE ON THE PORCH STEPS. Watercolour, Carl Larsson, 1910.
The artist couple invite friends and celebrities to their home in Sundborn. The home is renowned for its creative style and innovative interior design. Even during Carl and Karin’s lifetime, people made pilgrimages to Lilla Hyttnäs. They wanted to experience the setting that attracted such attention. To this day, the family still celebrates holidays at the house. You are warmly welcome to visit and step into the world that is so central to Carl and Karin’s shared creative work.
Carl Larsson, sketch of Lilla Hyttnäs in a letter to Pontus Fürstenberg, July 1890, ink drawing.
CARL AND KARIN LARSSON. Photo: The Carl Larsson House.
The artist couple pose for a formal studio photograph. Together they create the home in Sundborn that has attracted visitors for generations. Their shared artistry at Lilla Hyttnäs transforms the residence into a destination for art lovers already during their lifetime.
In his will, Carl states that Lilla Hyttnäs is to be preserved as a place for art and culture after his death. He has a strong connection to his family and his home, and he wants Lilla Hyttnäs to remain a living place that reflects his artistic legacy.
Carl wishes for the home to be managed by his family and to be open to the public. In this way, both his art and the atmosphere he and Karin created will be preserved for future generations. After Carl Larsson’s death in 1919 and Karin’s death in 1928, the family continued to care for the house. In the 1940s, Lilla Hyttnäs was opened to the public, and the property is still run by the Carl and Karin Larsson Family Association.
