Nowadays, Sweden loves Nils Dardel’s (1888–1943) oeuvre. But that was not always the case. He had to wait fairly long before he reached a wider public. Rumors about him spread quickly, however, for instance that his Stockholm address was: “Nils Dardel, c/o The Opera Bar, Stockholm”. He was an eccentric with an uncommon lifestyle. I suspect that his character stood in the way of his artistic career – for many years, some critics considered him to be a superficial and trite artist. Even worse were the many attacks on him as a person, relating to his ambiguous sexuality. Dardel was deeply hurt by the criticism, even though he usually dismissed it with his sharp and witty tongue. - from the Statement by John Peter Nilsson, curator
All images courtesy: Moderna Museet Stockholm.