Nora Bigner, 1938

Lotte Laserstein

Narrator: Lotte Laserstein depicts the couple Folke and Nora Bigner, whom she got to know in 1938 via Galerie Moderne. Nora, wife of the civil engineer and business leader, is painted sitting with her hands around a parasol, leaning slightly against one o f the armrests of her seat. Nora’s friendly, slightly dreamy gaze is directed outside the picture and seems to invite us in as a conversation partner rather than as an observer. The unfolded Japan inspired parasol behind Nora’s back frames her face and, in interplay with the white summer blouse adorned with two red flowers, gives her countenance a soft and playful expression that stands in appealing contrast to the portrait of her spouse, Folke. The portraits were presumably intended to hang next to each other.

Nora Bigner appears here as a representative of the modern, wealthy Swedish upper class patrons of culture and the arts. She was also a socially engaged individual who helped refugees arriving in Sweden in the 1930s and 1940s. In her family’s flat in Stockholm, Nora organized several exhibitions of Laserstein’s works to show her art to friends and acquaintances, in the hope this would result in commissions for Laserstein.

Nora and Folke Bigner appear in the portraits as warm and empathic people, and over time, Laserstein would develop a close friendship with the couple. She spent time with the Bigners at their summer cottage on Smådalarö and painted several portraits of family members.