Sigurd Persson is one of the 1900 greatest Swedish designers. His father was a silversmith and Sigurd began working for him as an apprentice. This determined the further creative development of Persson. Before the beginning of World War II, he studied in Munich and Stockholm (at the Higher School of Art and Design).
His works have a Swedish fluidity, grace, fragility of glass, simplicity and naturalness, purity of lines. All these are the hallmarks of Swedish modernism.
His work is distinguished by elegance and simplicity of form.
He belonged to a new generation of jewelers that emerged after World War II, who formed a more simplified thinking in comparison with Art Nouveau, inspired by the style that dominated before the war. The increasing industrialization of crafts also required simpler styles. Persson collaborated with the company of silver and steel (S & S), This partnership lasted for 40 years.
He held his first exhibition in 1950 in Stockholm and became quite a famous artist after that. In the 1950s and 60s he created silver cutlery, coffee pots and rings.
Sigurd Persson’s tall rings from the early 60s were striking examples of the architectural style. In the post-war period, churches were frequent customers, and Persson is considered one of the innovators in Swedish church silver with his powerful, yet simple and elegant form.
In 1951, 1954, 1957 and 1960, Sigurd received medals at the Milan Triennale. In addition to these, he received several Swedish awards throughout his life.
He drew inspiration from nature, stylizing and reworking what he saw. Architectural motifs are clearly visible in the design of the rings: monumentality, constructivism and innovation are clearly visible.
However, Swedish silver is not as well known outside Scandinavia, but there are several masters who have earned international fame – including Sigurd Persson.
His works are represented in several museums around the world, including the Röhss Museum in Gothenburg, the Helsingborg Museum, Det Danske Kunstindistrimuseum in Copenhagen, Kunstindustrimuseet in Oslo, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Décoratife Museum in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
