Emil Wikström

Emil Wikström (1864–1942) was one of the most accomplished sculptors of the Golden Age of Finnish art. His most famous sculptures include The Lantern Bearers adorning the façade of Helsinki’s Central Railway Station, and the pedimental sculpture in the tympanum of the House of the Estates. He is remembered for his many public sculptures and funerary monuments. One of his early important supporters was the Mänttä industrialist and art patron Gustaf Adolf Serlachius (1830-1901), who commissioned a number of busts from the young Wikström Gösta Serlachius (1876-1942) in turn acquired many of Wikström’s sculptures for his art collection, and the Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation has continued expanding its Wikström collection in the 2000s. Wikström was active in the Artists’ Association of Finland, and he also sat on the board of the Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation from 1933 to 1942.

Gösta’s Little Art Library is series of publications produced by the Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation featuring Gösta Serlachius’s favourite artists and gems from his exquisite collection.