SVEND HAMMERSHØI
(Danish 1873-1948)
Svend Hammershøi was a Danish painter and ceramic artist primarily recognised today for his pottery designs for Royal Copenhagen and Kähler's Ceramics Factory. He was born in Frederiksberg neighbourhood of Copenhagen in 1873, the son of a merchant Christian Hammershøi and his wife Frederikke. He was the younger brother of the famous artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916), who was a strong influenced on him becoming an artist. In his mid teens, Svend attended the Copenhagen Technical College before studying at the Royal Danish Academy from 1890-1892. He then followed in his brother’s foots steps by studying for five years at the independent Kunstnernes Studieskoler, the artist school operated by the painter Kristian Zahrtmann. It was during this period in 1893-4 that he began to publish drawings in the symbolist magazine Taarnet. This was also the period that he discovered travel with a trip to Berlin in 1894 and then Dresden in 1896/7. Although he was trained in the fine arts, he was also a ceramicist and designer.
In 1888 at the age of only 14, Svend began working, decorating ceramics at the Kjøbenhavns Lervarefabrik. He continued to work there during his studies and was mentored by the artist Thorvald Bindesbøll from 1890-1905. During this period he also worked at other ceramics firms including Næstved with Herman Kähler, and at the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory. When his mentor Bindesbøll died in 1908 he grew disinterested in ceramics began to concentrate more on his painting and drawing. However, in his later years he would write a biography of his mentor Thorvald Bindesbøll in Memoriam, 1846-1946.
In the period after Bindesbøll’s death Svend returned to painting, first with sketches and watercolours and then moving onto oils. He moved to England on a study grant in 1910 where he painted the architecture of Oxford and Wells for four years until the World War 1 prompted his return to Denmark. He would continue to travel regularly to Oxford until 1933. Svend would continue to focus on architecture paintings and landscapes in Denmark.
While primarily a painter in this period, Svend Hammershøi would also continue to work in design. He exhibited in Paris in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts where he, together with Holger Kyster, would win a gold metal for his silverware design. This same year he became a Knight of the Order of the Danneborg for his contribution to the arts. In 1927, he exhibited at Royal Institute of British Architects in London and in 1944 received he high honour of the Thorvaldsen Metal. His book on Thorvald Bindesbøll was published in 1946. Svend died in 1948 in Copenhagen and is buried in Frederiksberg.
Although today often overshadowed by his older brother Vilhelm’s legacy, in recent years interest in work by Svend has grown. In 2008 an exhibition including his drawings, paintings, ceramics and silverware was hosted at the Øregaard Museum in Hellerup, in conjunction with with Næstved Museum and Skovgaard Museum.