Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke

He became renowned for evocative landscapes, as well as monumental public murals for the Royal Opera, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and Stockholm City Hall. In 1899, he purchased the Waldemarsudde estate on Djurgården, which served as his home and studio. On his 80th birthday in 1945, King Gustaf V established the Prince Eugen Medal to honor outstanding artistic achievements. Upon his death in 1947, Eugen bequeathed his estate and collection of art to the state, and it opened as a public museum in 1948.

Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke studied at Uppsala University. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are landscape. Positions recorded include duke and Hereditary Prince. Work by Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke is recorded in the collections of Finnish National Gallery, Nationalmuseum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Statens Museum for Kunst and National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. Distinctions recorded are Order of the Black Eagle, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece and King Haakon VII Freedom Cross.

• Name — Prince Eugen • Title — Duke of Närke • Full Name — Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus • Born — 1 August 1865 • Birthplace — Drottningholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden • Died — 17 August 1947 • Place of death — Drottningholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden • Father — Oscar II • Mother — Sophia of Nassau • Royal House — Bernadotte • Illustration — Prince Eugen painting. By Oscar Björck, c. 1905 • Illustration — Prince Eugen, 1900. • Illustration — Prince Eugen's grave at Waldemarsudde.

Prince Eugen was born at Drottningholm Palace as the fourth and youngest son of Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland. His mother was Sophia of Nassau. The newborn prince was granted the title of Duke of Närke. Upon his father's accession to the thrones of Sweden and Norway as King Oscar II, the Duke of Närke became fourth in line to the throne. Showing early artistic promise, he studied in Paris, and went on to become one of Sweden's most prominent landscape painters. Throughout his life Prince Eugen was a supporter of fellow artists, and also involved in many cultural organisations and committees. A homosexual bachelor, he bequeathed his villa Waldemarsudde at Djurgården in Stockholm, and its collections, to the nation. It is now one of Sweden's most popular museums.

The Duke of Närke was a great admirer of Norwegian nature and frequently visited Christiania (later known as Oslo). His letters show that he preferred its artistic milieu to the more constrained Stockholm one. His most notable Norwegian friends were the painters Erik Werenskiold and Gerhard Munthe; he remained attached to them and to Norway until his death. In 1905, the personal union between Norway and Sweden was broken by the Parliament of Norway. The writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson mentioned the possible candidature of Prince Eugen for the throne of Norway. Another writer, Knut Hamsun, had suggested the Prince as a suitable candidate already in 1893. His father, however, refused to allow any of his sons to ascend the Norwegian throne. Prince Eugen was the only Swede represented at an exhibition in Oslo in 1904. The explanation was that he was a prince of Norway until 1905 and that his relations with the Norwegian artists caused him to be seen as Norwegian until the dissolution of the union.

After finishing high school, Prince Eugen studied art history at Uppsala University. Although supported by his parents, Prince Eugen did not make the decision to pursue a career in painting easily, not least because of his royal status. He was very open-minded and interested in the radical tendencies of the 1880s. He was first trained in painting by Hans Gude and Wilhelm von Gegerfelt. Between 1887 and 1889, he studied in Paris under Léon Bonnat, Alfred Philippe Roll, Henri Gervex and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. When he arrived, the Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt became his cicerone in the studios and at the exhibitions in Paris - a close friendship between Eugene and Edelfelt arose. Puvis de Chavannes's classical simplicity had the greatest influence on Prince Eugen's work. The Duke devoted himself entirely to landscape painting, becoming one of the era's most prominent landscape painters. He was mainly interested in the lake Mälaren, the countryside of Stockholm (such as Tyresö, where he spent his summers), Västergötland (most notably Örgården, another summer residence) and Skåne (especially Österlen).

• Illustration — Painting of anchored ships • Illustration — A Summer Night at Tyresö. 1895. 78 × 144 cm. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. • Illustration — Calm Water. 1901. 142 × 178 cm. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. • Illustration — View of Vadstena from the surrounding fields • Illustration — Östra Reals gymnasium • Illustration — Kiruna Church, altarpiece • Illustration — Djurgård Church • Illustration — Porcelain flower pot designed by Prince Eugen, popular in Sweden. • Illustration — The old castle (1893) • Illustration — The Cloud (1927)

* Arms as Prince of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke 1865 to 1905 — Arms as Prince of Sweden and Duke of Närke 1905 to 1947 — Royal Monogram of Prince Eugen of Sweden

The authorities additionally record the headings Napoleon Nikolaus Prinz von Eugen, Duke of Närke Eugene, Prince Eugen, Prince of Sweden Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus and Duke of Narke Eugene. His recorded confession was Lutheranism. He was the child of Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau.

Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke is recorded as having received Order of the Black Eagle, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. It is clearing up. Ships at Anchor.