Carolina Benedicks-Bruce

Carolina Maria Benedicks-Bruce (28 October 1856 – 16 February 1935) was a Swedish sculptor. After studies at the Academy of Arts in Sweden she went to France, at first to study and later to live and work at the artists' colony in Grez-sur-Loing where she met her husband William Blair Bruce. With him she returned to Sweden and together they created the artists estate Brucebo on Gotland, which was later established as a nature reserve. She also worked actively with the preservation of heritage buildings, women's right to vote and establishing the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization.

Early life and education Benedicks, born on 28 October 1856 in Stockholm, was the daughter of Karolina Charlotta (born Cantzler) and Edward Otto Benedicks, Her brother, Gustaf Benedicks, inherited the iron works and was a member of the Swedish Riksdag. She also had a sister and two half-siblings from her father's second marriage. Her half-brother was physicist Carl Benedicks. There were many artists on her mother's side of the family: several of her uncles and her grandmother were painters, among them Johan Oscar Cantzler and Axel Leopold Cantzler. It was through them that Benedicks' artistry was cultivated and developed. she became the first female student in the sculpture class at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts.

France Benedicks met other female artists at the academy including Hilma af Klint and Gerda Rydberg with whom she travelled to France in 1883. Most of their time was spent in Paris and at the Swedish artist colony in Grez-sur-Loing. After completing her studies at the academy in Stockholm, she returned to France where she became the student of sculptor Alexandre Falguière.

Being a single female, with a good artistic education and coming from a wealthy family who encouraged her artistic aspirations, set Benedicks apart from the rest of the artists in the colony. At the time, this was a predominantly male environment, with artists of small means.

Works Benedicks was foremost a sculptor, but she also worked with etchings and watercolors. Her sculptures are heavily influenced by the French style of the 1870s and 1880s, while her paintings and etchings are mostly landscapes and animals. Her works were exhibited for the first time at the Salon in Paris in 1899, where she participated with her sculpture L'obsédé. Her study of the human anatomy resulted in a humoristic sculpture called Séance finie or "The yawning". Baigneur blessé ("The wounded bather") that won the Mention Honorable at the Salon in Paris in 1893.

Personal life

Benedicks met artist William Blair Bruce in France in the spring of 1885. They moved to Brucebo in 1900. When Bruce died in 1906, she stayed on in Brucebo and continued with her work. The estate became a social hub for artists, musicians and scientists on Gotland, with Benedicks-Bruce as a generous hostess.

Social commitments Benedicks-Bruce was a unique and strong woman, engaged in political and social issues and has been called a Swedish "Mrs. Pankhurst". Among the things she fought for was the women's right to vote. When the Sixth Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance was held in Stockholm in 1911, she invited the delegates to Gotland. About 40 of them from Germany, England, Austria and Hungary accepted and came to Visby on 21June. She also worked with Gotlandic questions and was one of the most ardent advocates for the preservation of the Burmeisterska huset, a 17th-century house in Visby. She was also a key figure in the establishment of the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization on Gotland.

In 1911, she was a member of the Väskinde school council and a year later, part of the Väskinde Fruit Growers Association. In 1913, she became a member of the Väskinde Municipality Council. Benedicks-Bruce also made generous donations to the conservation of heritage buildings, childcare and orphanages.

Gallery