Partner Sigrid Leijonhufvud
Queer Places:
Sista Styverns trappor 5, 116 28 Stockholm, Sweden
Södra Kyrkogården, Skansgatan 3, 392 33 Kalmar, Sweden
Emma Emilia Sigrid Charlotte Blomberg (October 17, 1863 – January 28, 1941) was born on October 17, 1863, in Fliseryd, Småland, Sweden, as the daughter of
the property owner and farmer Alfred Blomberg (1828–1894) and Charlotta Eleonora née Lundqvist (1829–1895). Growing up with her five siblings on her
father’s farm in Skärshult, she spent her school years at the Nisbeth girls’ school in Kalmar, where she began making woodcarvings at an early age.
In the autumn of 1888, Blomberg enrolled at the technical school for female apprentices in Stockholm with the initial intention of becoming a carpenter. Although she had no initial plans to become an artist, she tested a material new to her—clay—and soon discovered new creative possibilities in the plastic arts. At the age of 26, she entered the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (Konstakademien), attending from 1889 to 1898. During her lengthy academic training, she participated in Axel Tallberg’s first etching course from 1895 to 1896 and spent several years studying in Germany. Her talent was recognized early when she received her first artistic distinction, the Academy’s Hertigliga medal, in 1894 for her sculpture Ormtjuserskan (The Snake Charmer), which was bought for Västerås Castle. In 1896, she was awarded the Ribbing stipend "for diligence," later receiving additional subsidies from the Academy's special maintenance fund. During her final year at the Academy, she became the fourth female sculptor to be awarded the Royal Medal, honoring the two figurines Kristus and Maria (Christ and Mary) shown at the annual student exhibition. These formed part of a five-figure sculpture group she created for Oskarshamn Church, which the Academy supported by providing her with her own studio to complete the installation by the end of 1899. Commissions and distinctions enabled her to study privately abroad.
By focusing heavily on sacred and religious art, Blomberg secured numerous official commissions that allowed her to rent a studio in Italy, where she spent much of her time between 1900 and 1912, deeply influenced by the plastic style of the early Renaissance. In 1898, she began her most famous work, Bebådelsen (The Annunciation), initially displayed in plaster at the Academy and subsequently at the exhibition of Svenska Konstnärernas Förening. The final version was hewn in marble in Italy under her supervision and was acquired in 1900 by the Nationalmuseum, marking a historic milestone as the first sculpture by a female artist in their collection. Depicting a young praying Mary on her knees with her head turned upwards to receive the archangel’s message, the piece was immensely loved by museum visitors and later mass-produced in miniature terracotta form to be found in many Swedish homes.
Among her other major commissions, Blomberg produced extensive religious artwork for the Gustav Vasa Church in Stockholm in 1906, modeling the baptismal font to match the existing baroque altar and crafting bronzed candelabras featuring allegorical figures of Faith, Hope, and Love, alongside creating Bönen, an upright praying Christ figure, for the Edelweiss association's chapel. Because female sculptors were often perceived as more skilled at expressing emotion, she received prominent funerary commissions. In 1902, she notably beat Carl Milles to win a commission for the Röhss mausoleum at the Östra Cemetery in Gothenburg, designed by her long-time acquaintance, architect Hans Hedlund. Completed in 1907 as one of Sweden's most expensive monuments, the site featured her bronze sculpture groups Sorgen (Grief) and Hoppet (Hope) on either side of the main door, Uppståndelsen (The Resurrection) on the roof, a bronze main door designed with Sjungande flickor (Singing Girls), and busts of the Röhss couple inside. In Gothenburg, she was also commissioned to create a marble sarcophagus for Viktor Rydberg’s funerary monument, hewn in Italy and installed in 1908 with a design inspired by the skaldic poem De badande barnen. Beyond her religious and funerary works, she produced busts for Dramaten (the Royal Dramatic Theatre), portraits in relief, and portraiture of her contemporaries.
Blomberg rarely exhibited her work, preferring to focus entirely on commissions. In her personal life, she maintained a close connection to Stockholm's female intellectual network. She joined the women's cultural association Nya Idun in 1900, where she met her life companion, the author and historian Sigrid Leijonhufvud. Members of Nya Idun frequently visited their home, and the society’s drama group often rehearsed in Blomberg’s Stockholm attic studio—a space previously owned by Eva Bonnier, where Blomberg also taught sculpture classes to students such as Astri Taube and Ninnan Santesson. In 1904, Blomberg built a summer residence named Sista Styvern in Upplands Väsby, Småland, where she worked for many years alongside Leijonhufvud. One of the final portraits Blomberg produced was a relief of Leijonhufvud.
Blomberg's prolific sculpting career came to a sudden halt in 1912 when she became afflicted by a severe eye disease. Her final sculpture was Madonna del Fuoco (Madonna of the Fire), a wooden piece she carved in 1912 inspired by a vision seen in the flames of her fireplace at her summer residence. Having lost her ability to sculpt, she provided for herself thereafter by working as a bookbinder. Additional compounding illnesses eventually forced her to move in with one of her sisters in Karlstad, where Sigrid Blomberg passed away on January 28, 1941, leaving a lasting legacy as a trailblazing sculptor who bridged official religious artistry with early 20th-century queer and intellectual community.
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