From the “Goings On About Town” section in the 10/20/14 New Yorker:
Tove Jansson Celebration: N.Y.R.B. Classics and Scandinavia House mark the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Finnish writer, known for the Moomin cartoon series and other works, as well as the publication of a new collection of her stories, “The Woman Who Borrowed Memories.” The novelists Philip Teir and Kathryn Davis will discuss Jansson’s fiction, the actor Thomas Hiltunen will give a reading, and the journalist Anu Partanen will moderate. (58 Park Ave., at 38th St. scandinaviahouse.org. Oct. 20 at 6:30.)
Another multiple talent who doesn’t usually get pegged as Artist (without qualification), like many others I’ve written about on this blog (Edward Gorey, for instance). Charming but complex books for children (a favorite in our household when my daughter was young), among other things.
On Jansson, from Wikipedia:
Tove Marika Jansson (… 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. For her contribution as a children’s writer she received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1966.
Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and then Paris. Her first solo art exhibition was in 1943. At the same time, she was writing short stories and articles for publication, as well as creating the graphics for book covers and other purposes. She continued to work as an artist for the rest of her life, alongside her writing.
Jansson is best known as the author of the Moomin books for children. The first such book, The Moomins and the Great Flood, appeared in 1945, though it was the next two books, Comet in Moominland and Finn Family Moomintroll, published in 1946 and 1948 respectively, that brought her fame.
Starting with the semi-autobiographical Bildhuggarens dotter (Sculptor’s Daughter) in 1968, she wrote six novels and five books of short stories for adults.
And on the Moomins, again from Wikipedia:
The Moomins (Swedish: Mumintroll, Finnish: Muumi) are the central characters in a series of books, and a comic strip by Swedish-speaking Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white, roundish fairy tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses. The carefree and adventurous family live in their house in Moominvalley, though in the past, their temporary residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre.
(Caption: The Moomins on the path to adventure, from left: Moominmamma, Moominpappa, Moomintroll [male] and the Snork maiden [Moomintroll’s friend and playmate].)
More from Wikipedia:
Critics have interpreted various Moomin characters as being inspired by real people, especially members of the author’s family, and Tove Jansson spoke in interviews about the backgrounds of, and possible models for, her characters.Tove Jansson’s life partner was the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä, whose personality inspired the [“wise woman”] character Too-Ticky in Moominland Midwinter. Moomintroll and Little My have been seen as psychological self-portraits of the artist. The Moomins, generally speaking, relate strongly to Jansson’s own family – they were bohemian, lived close to nature and were very tolerant towards diversity. Moominpappa and Moominmamma are often seen as portraits of Jansson’s parents Viktor Jansson and Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. Most of Jansson’s characters are on the verge of melancholy, such as the always formal Hemulen, or the strange Hattifatteners, who travel in concerted, ominous groups. Jansson uses the differences between the characters’ philosophies to provide a venue for her satirical impulses.
(Folded into that is the information that Jansson’s life partner was a woman.)
There’s a website, All Things Moomin: The Official Home of the Moomins, with information and merchandise.
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