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Else Alfelt (16 September 1910 – 9 August 1974) was a Danish artist known for her abstract paintings. She was one of two female members of the CoBrA art movement, an art group. She was married to Carl-Henning Pedersen, who was also a prominent CoBrA member.
Else Alfelt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 September 1910 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | 9 August 1974 (aged 63) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | CoBrA (avant-garde movement) |
| Spouse | Carl-Henning Pedersen |
Alfelt was born in Copenhagen, to Carl Valdemar Ahlefeldt and Edith Alexandra Regine Julie Thomsen. She started painting at a young age and taught herself as an artist. When her parents divorced, she was sent to an orphanage by her father's new wife. At around 12 years old, she began to learn painting by observing and drawing the people and surroundings at the orphanage.[1]
At 15, Alfelt attended the Technical School in Copenhagen for two years. She applied to the Art Academy in Copenhagen, but was rejected because the school believed she already had the necessary painting skills.[1]
In 1933, at the age of 23, she attended the International Folk High School in Elsinore. There she met her future husband, Carl-Henning Pedersen. They quickly married, and their daughter, Vibeke Alfelt, was born in 1934. During the period from 1934 to 1937, the couple faced financial struggles but continued to find inspiration. They painted on used canvases to keep creating art. This is how Pedersen began painting, as his wife gave him a used canvas and encouraged him to make it his own.[1]
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Ahlefeldt started submitting her artwork to the annual Autumn Salon of Danish artists in 1929. However, her work was not accepted until 1936. when she displayed two realistic portraits. After that, Alfelt's painting style shifted completely to abstract paintings that were meditative and colorful.
During the 1930s to 1950s, she became a part of the avant-garde art movements in Denmark. She was part of Linien, an artists' group and art journal. During World War II, under the German occupation, Alfelt played an important role in Helhesten, another artists' group and art journal. It was a plce for experimental art and resistance against the occupation. After the war, she became an important member of CoBrA.
Alfelt's artwork included spirals, mountains, and spheres, which she associated with "inner space" expressions. She drew inspiration from nature, particularly mountains. She traveled to places like Lapland in 1945 and Japan in 1967 to seek inspiration.[2] In addition to paintings, she also created several mosaic artworks.
In 1961, she received the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat award.
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In Herning, there is a Carl Henning Pedersen and Else Alfelts Museum. This museum dedicated to the works of Carl Henning Pedersen and Else Alfelt. In Copenhagen there is a road named Else Alfelts Vej in her honor. In September 2010, the museum organized a major exhibition called "Else Alfelt – The Aesthetics of Emptiness" to celebrate her 100th birthday. The exhibition ran for five months and highlighted her importance as one of the most significant women artists in Danish modernism.
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