Arne Aspelin Swedish, 1911-1990

Arne Aspelin was a Swedish painter, born in Helsingborg in 1911. He studied at the Skånska Målarskolan in Malmö before continuing his studies in Paris. He began exhibiting in the mid-1930s, making his debut with the Skånes konstförening in 1935, and went on to hold a number of solo exhibitions in Malmö and Ystad during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1938, he exhibited at the influential Färg och Form in Stockholm.

Aspelin worked across oil, watercolour and tempera, painting landscapes, still lifes, figures, portraits and scenes of everyday life. His work is characterised by simplified forms, expressive colour and a distinctive, atmospheric handling of paint. Art historian Gösta Lilja noted particularly Aspelin's skill as a draughtsman and his ability to create striking effects through colour.

Alongside his painting, Aspelin worked as an illustrator and lithographer, and also designed stage decorations for Malmö's Södra Teatern in the early 1950s. His work is represented in the collections of Malmö Museum and other Swedish museum collections. He died in Limhamn, Malmö, in 1990.