Hanna Hirsch Pauli – The art of being free

by Carina Rech, Eva-Lena Karlsson

Discover the artist behind the beloved painting Breakfast Time. Hanna Hirsch Pauli is one of the most ‘famous unknown’ painters in Nordic art from the turn of the 20th century. This exhibition presents a comprehensive picture of her work for the first time. It also gives you the chance to get to know Hanna Hirsch Pauli as both an artist and a person. Hanna Hirsch Pauli is one of the most popular and well-known of the Swedish artists who were active at the turn of the 20th century. When she broke through as an artist in the 1880s, her style of painting was regarded as radical and innovative in terms of both choice of subject and stylistic execution. She painted iconic works such as The Artist Venny Soldan-Brofeldt and Breakfast Time. She was neither marginalised during her lifetime nor forgotten after her death. Yet much of her output is unknown to a wider audience, and her fascinating life story has remained largely unexplored. The exhibition is complemented by a richly illustrated, research-based catalogue that provides a representative overview of Hanna Hirsch Pauli’s artistic output. Multi-award-winning Swedish cartoonist Joanna Rubin Dranger has contributed an illustrated letter story that will also be made available as in-depth material for schools.

264 pages, Hardcover

Published June 10, 2025