Peter Sandelin

Peter Johan Sandelin (30 May 1930 – 16 February 2019) was a Finland-Swedish poet and visual artist. He lived in Helsinki.

Born in Jakobstad, Sandelin was the son of Carl Victor Sandelin, a medical doctor, and Marianne Hackman. From 1954 he worked as a freelance literary and art critic for Hufvudstadsbladet and as a correspondent for the magazine Paletten. Between 1973 and 1983 he was on the board of Society of Swedish Authors in Finland (Finlands svenska författareförening).

Sandelin made his debut as a poet in 1951 with Ur svalans loggbok published by Schildts Förlag. He wrote in a modernist tradition. His poetry is said to be inspired by Gunnar Björling and Rabbe Enckell. He was awarded with the Swedish Academy Finland Prize in 2005.

Sandelin was also a visual artist. He graduated from the Svenska aftonläroverket in Helsinki in 1952 and then studied at Fria konstskolan in 1953 and the Helsingin yliopiston piirustussali from 1954 to 1955. He had several solo exhibitions, culminating in a retrospective exhibition at the Amos Anderson Art Museum in Helsinki in 2000. His abstract painting, often in small format, was intimate and restrained, in harmony with the imagery of poetry.

Sandelin died in Helsinki at the age of 88 in 2019.