Imagine being contracted to a company with the mission to create ‘best-sellers’. No pressure there, then. But when Swedish ceramicist Lisa Larson joined Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum in 1954, she was more than up to the job.
The initial contract was for one year. Larsen stayed for 26, creating one best-seller after another with an output so prolific that even she didn’t know how many pieces she’d produced over the years.
Larson’s figurines frequently represented people and animals with soft, swelling shapes, their expressions usually humorous and subtly ironic. Her first successful series was titled Small Zoo, inspired by the first model of a cat with its tail straight up in the air, made of dark brown stoneware with carved stripes and looking very modernist. Two other cats in a similar style followed. “I have always had cats; it was a natural part of life in the country where I grew up,” said Larson. “The calming effect of the cats is obvious, especially when they come to lie down on your lap.”
In 1958, Larson released a range called the ABC girls. In what can only be described as curvaceous form, the five figures contrasted sharply with the thin beauty ideal of the 1950s and several critics were unimpressed, but the public loved them. “The reason they were so round was that they were supposed to be book supports, but they became too light for that purpose,” said Larson. “I still liked the shape. Things often become a bit round when I work.”
As a freelancer later in her career, Larson also worked in glass, bronze and wood with a vigour that never waned. Each day started with a quiet meditation, but after that she worked at full speed, right up until the last day of her life.
To read more on Lisa Larsen, grab a copy of the Autumn 2026 issue of Antiques to Vintage and get the whole story! (In newsagents now or subscribe today and have the magazine delivered direct to you).
