ARTISTIC LICENCE AND MAINSTREAM TASTE

Throughout history, powerful people have had strong opinions on what art should be like. In 1935, when Nationalmuseum asked the government to buy Carl Kylberg’s "The Departure", the then minister of culture, Arthur Engberg, said no, stating that he had a hard time seeing what the smudges were supposed to be, and that it was impossible for him to justify spending public funds on that work of art.

This immediately sparked a debate in the media. Journalists and critics spoke of “censorship” and “art dictatorship”. With the Nazi campaign to clear out what they regarded as degenerate art – entartete Kunst – in fresh memory, the debaters pointed out the unsuitability of Engberg’s standpoint. This was the first time a government minister had decided against a recommendation by Nationalmuseum’s expert curators.

Nationalmuseum had already acquired Carl Kylberg’s painting "Ocean Breeze" in 1933. Arthur Engberg thought that this work was enough. The director of Nationalmuseum, Axel Gauffin, and his colleagues told Engberg that it was important that Kylberg also be represented with The Departure. They stressed the museum’s assignment to acquire works of art that were typical of the contemporary period, regardless of their personal taste. Their discussion was documented in writing and shows the different opinions of the parties.

The actor Tora Teje bought The Departure at the time of the debate. By donating the painting to Nationalmuseum, she could circumvent Engberg, since the museum was allowed to receive gifts without the government’s approval. In retaliation for Teje’s act of defiance, the minister decided to cut Nationalmuseum’s allocation for acquisitions of modern art the following year.

Today, Moderna Museet’s director is assigned the task of acquiring art on behalf of the government. The Museums Act of 2017 stipulates that the government should keep at “arm’s length”, preventing any political involvement in the activities of museums.