Alex Federley
Alexander Thiodolf Federley (12 July 1864, in Turku – 17 November 1932, in Helsinki) was a Finland-Swedish graphic artist who created political cartoons, posters, book illustrations and postcards. His works are generally signed AFley.
Also recorded as Aleksander Thiodolf Federley · A. T. Federley · A. Federley · Alexander Thiodolf Federley
Alex Federley

Cartoonist: Alex Federley · Finnish Heritage Agency ( · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Alex Federley
- Born
- 12 July 1864
- Birthplace
- Turku
- Died
- 17 November 1932
- Nationality
- Finland and Grand Duchy of Finland.
- Occupation
- politician, painter and cartoonist.
- Education
- Académie Julian.
- Teachers
- Jules Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury.
- Languages
- Finnish and Swedish.
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Documentary summary
Alexander Thiodolf Federley (12 July 1864, in Turku – 17 November 1932, in Helsinki) was a Finland-Swedish graphic artist who created political cartoons, posters, book illustrations and postcards. His works are generally signed AFley.
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Note VALÉORINE
Alex Federley (1864–1932) was a cartoonist, painter and politician and a national of Finland and the Grand Duchy of Finland. Born in Turku, the cartoonist died in Helsinki.
Alex Federley studied at Académie Julian. The cartoonist worked in Önningeby.
Languages used include Finnish and Swedish. Works by Alex Federley are held at Ateneum, Finnish National Gallery and Helsinki City Museum.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q5726860 · wikipedia · Alex Federley
In this article
Biography
Biography
Alex Federley studied at Académie Julian. Training under Jules Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury is recorded. The recorded working language is Finnish and Swedish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are caricature. Places of work recorded in the authority are Önningeby. Work by Alex Federley is recorded in the collections of Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki City Museum and Ateneum.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Alex Federley • Born — 12 July 1864 • Birthplace — Turku • Died — 17 November 1932
Biography
Biography
His father was Axel Thiodolf Federley, a military judge, and his mother was Ida Josefina Thomé. He studied at the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society in Turku from 1882 to 1885 and then in the same school in Helsinki (now part of the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki), from 1885 to 1888, after which he attended the Académie Julian in Paris from 1891 to 1893, where he studied with Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury. In the late 1880s, he was already providing illustrations to the Swedish-language satirical magazine Spets (magazine) (Nib), then to the Finnish-language equivalent, Velikulta (Dear Brother), published by the Young Finnish Party. During that time, he also became one of the first political cartoonists in Finland to sign his drawings. Among his best-known book illustrations are those for the multi-volume collection of historical short-stories, Fältskärns berättelser (The Surgeon's Tales), by Zachris Topelius. In 1898, he became a regular contributor to Fyren (Lighthouse), published by the Swedish Party (forerunner to the Swedish People's Party of Finland) and remained associated with it until its demise in 1922. His primary artistic influence was Adolf Oberländer of the Munich magazine Fliegende Blätter, whose naively unaffected style he emulated, often working under the pseudonym Ante. In 1907, ahead of the first elections to the unicameral Parliament of Finland, he designed the party's election poster depicting a coastal fisherman on a skerry holding a flag with Finland's heraldic lion – an emblem known as "Mannen med flaggan" (The Man with the Flag) that remained in use for over fifty years. During the 1920s, he was the party's representative to the Haaga Township Council. In addition to his other activities, from 1894 to 1916, he was the Chief Curator for the "Finnish Artists' Association", and he taught at a boys' preparatory vocational school from 1900 until his death, serving as the school's Director from 1905 to 1927. His wife, Sanny Hagelstam, whom he married in 1898, was also an artist.
Selected works
Selected works
• Illustration — Postcard of lumber in the rapids near Kajaani • Illustration — "Haven't I told you to keep your mouth shut when talking to people?!" • Illustration — Men representing various political parties, competing for the Finnish Maiden • Illustration — Caricature of Jean Sibelius
Identity
Identity
Alex Federley is recorded as a citizen of Grand Duchy of Finland. Recorded with the occupation cartoonist. Classed in the genre caricature.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1864
Alex Federley was born on 12 July 1864.
1932
Alex Federley died on 17 November 1932.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Turku.
Birth place
Helsinki.
Death place
Books by Federley
• Bilder och visor: små spånor och flisor – i färger och ord – från mitt arbetsbord Bildkonst, 1929 (Pictures and songs: small chips and splinters – in colors and words – from my desk; published in Finnish as Lauluja ja kuvia, lapsille huvia, suomentanut mukaillen A. L., Kuvataide, [1929] • Sagor om djur och fåglar, mest om fåglar, Söderströms, 1922 (Fairy tales about animals and birds...mostly birds.)
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5726860: Alex Federley
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Alex Federley”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Aleksander Thiodolf Federley, A. Federley and Alexander Thiodolf Federley. His recorded languages were Finnish and Swedish. He married Sanny Federley. Formation and teaching. Federley studied at Académie Julian. He trained under Jules Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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