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The Art Collections
The museum’s art collection represents almost two hundred years of artistic expression, the main emphasis being on turn-of-the-century national romanticism and the various styles of the early 1900s, all of which in their unique way reflect the spirit of their times. New acquisitions are made on continuous basis, particularly of works of provincial artists and contemporary art in order to introduce and present the art of our time. Among the local artists and painters who are well represented in the museum’s collections are Georg Pauli, Ester Almqvist, Herman Norrman, Vera Nilsson and John Bauer.

Without the donations, small as well as large, which the museum and Jönköpings Läns Konstförening have received during the years, the art collections would neither be as extensive nor as qualitatively representative. The three most prominent donations are the Georg and Hanna Pauli donation, the art collection of Director-General Bernt Lindskog and the Gannevik collection.

The Georg and Hanna Pauli Donation
“We, Georg and Hanna Pauli, hereby donate as a gift a number of works of art made by us and other artists to the Norra Smålands Konstförening to be included in the future Jönköpings Konstmuseum under the name of the Georg and Hanna Pauli Donation".

This was how Georg Pauli began his deed of gift in 1935, having already five years earlier made his decision to donate parts of his and his wife’s art collection to Jönköping, his hometown. At the turn of the century and during the early 1900s, the artist couple Georg Pauli (1855-1935) and Hanna Pauli (1864-1940) belonged to the Stockholm cultural elite and the circle around Ellen Key, holding the view that art had a salutary and wholesome effect on the human spirit.
Therefore, it was seen important that art was made accessible to all through, for example monumental paintings and public exhibition halls, such as museums. Thus, it is against this background that the Paulis’ donation should be viewed.

The Georg and Hanna Pauli Donation includes Swedish works of art from the period 1880 to 1930, emphasising turn-of-the-century and modernism during the 1910s. There is also a representative collection of Georg Pauli’s own works, including sketches for the cubist inspired frescos he created in 1913 for the new Per Brahe High school. In the 1910s he was a keen advocate of modern art, supporting the young painters and buying their art. Isaac Grünewald’s large painting Violinisten (The violin player) is one example.

The Lindskog Collection
The General-Director of the Swedish Post Office, Bernt Vilhelm Lindskog, was born and raised in Jönköping. He was a keen judge of art and his collection included mainly Swedish and French 20th century art.

Following his death in 1958, his sisters, Hilda and Ester Lindskog donated a large part of his collection to Jönköpings Läns Museum, including a number of paintings by John Bauer which are now part of the museum’s permanent John Bauer exhibition. Some examples are När trollmor skötte kungens storbyk (When mother troll took in the king’s washing), Pojken som aldrig var rädd (The boy who was never afraid) and Sagan om älgtjuren Skutt och lilla prinsessan Tuvstarr (Leap the Elk and the Little Princess Cottongrass).

The Gannevik Collection
In 2003, Jönköpings Läns Konstförening received another major donation, this time by Per Gannevik who, like Gerog Pauli, wanted to favour his hometown. Following his retirement from a successful business life and finding time to devote himself to his interest in art, Per Gannevik started to collect Swedish Paintings from the first decades of the 1900s, particularly the 1920s and –30s. His donation includes 37 paintings, among them several important works reflecting styles and schools which had not before been so well represented in the Art Society’s and the museum’s collections. Some examples of his collection are the new objectivity represented by Otte Sköld’s Baren i Paris (The bar in Paris), Hilding Lindvist’s naivist painting Vilande kvinna (Resting woman), Vera Nilsson’s cubist-expressionist portrait Pojke med blå mössa (Boy in a blue hat), Ivan Ivarsson’s Veranda i Stenungssund (Veranda in Stenungssund) representing the Gothenburg colourists and primitivism represented by Flickan och lejonet (The girl and the lion) by Bror Hjorth.

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