Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1923 Stockholm, Sweden

Died: 1982 London, England

Year of Migration to the UK: 1948

Biography

Printmaker and artist Birgit Skiöld was born in Stockholm, Sweden on 18 March 1923. She studied furniture design at Stockholm Tekniska Skolan (now Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design) before moving to London in 1948, where she enrolled at the Anglo-French Art Centre i St John's Wood, encountering influential figures such as Francis Bacon, Eduardo Paolozzi, and David Sylvester. Her interest in printmaking was sparked by an exhibition of European lithography, featuring artists including Max Ernst and Oskar Kokoschka. Eager to deepen her knowledge, she studied lithography under Henry Trivick and etching with Richard Beer at the Regent Street Polytechnic (now University of Westminster).

Shortly after completing further studies at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and returning to London in 1958, Skiöld’s immigration status came under scrutiny. A Home Office communication to her lawyer suggested she might be permitted to remain in Britain if she established ‘some small business connected with her profession’ (Naish 2023, p. 193). Letters of recommendation from figures such as Edward Ardizzone further bolstered her case. This gave Skiöld the impetus to found what would become the Print Workshop, realising her vision of a shared space for creative collaboration. By the mid-1950s, she was living at 76 Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, renting her first basement studio nearby in George Street, Marylebone, where she acquired a lithographic press and stones that once belonged to Vanessa Bell of the Bloomsbury Group. Recognising an urgent need for a non-commercial studio dedicated to experimental printmaking, she began shaping the concept that would soon flourish. Robert Erskine of St George’s Gallery—hoping to emulate the success of S W Hayter's Paris’s Atelier 17—encouraged this plan, having already tried to expand Atelier 17’s influence in London without success.

In 1958, Skiöld officially opened the Print Workshop in the basement of 28 Charlotte Street. For a modest monthly fee, artists could use the presses, hone new techniques, and connect with a growing community of print enthusiasts. This educational component was essential for recent graduates and younger practitioners eager to learn from established talents. Unlike commercial studios, the Print Workshop was designed to foster an atmosphere of exchange and experimentation. Internationally recognised artists—including Michael Ayrton, Jim Dine, David Hockney, Victor Pasmore, and Eduardo Paolozzi—frequented it, drawn by Skiöld’s expertise and her willingness to accommodate unconventional approaches. Insisting on professional standards while encouraging spontaneity, she made the Workshop both rigorous and vibrant. Beyond its day-to-day function, the Print Workshop often hosted small exhibitions—referred to affectionately as ‘do’s’ (Naish 2023, p. 195)—which became lively social events. At these gatherings, artists, writers, and critics forged creative and professional alliances that extended well beyond Charlotte Street’s basement. Skiöld’s work at the Print Workshop dovetailed with her own development as an artist. She pioneered new approaches in lithography, intaglio, and blind embossing. Combining multiple processes—sugar-lift aquatint, open-bite etching, and even Xerox printing—she produced prints with striking layers of texture and colour. Her fascination with livres d’artiste led her to collaborate with writers such as James Kirkup, while her more conventional print runs, including two-colour viscosity prints like Furrowed Wave (1968, V&A collection), garnered critical attention.

In 1970, she produced the portfolio of relief etchings Chimes with seven poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, published by Circle Press Publications, which earned the Aigle d’Or (Prix de la Bibliophilie). Around the same period, Skiöld held notable solo exhibitions in London, including one at the Curwen Gallery in 1968 and another at the Oxford Gallery in 1971, further consolidating her reputation. Underpinning Skiöld’s success were her connections to Erskine and St George’s Gallery. She gained editioning experience for the gallery and regularly participated in its exhibitions, such as Swedish Graphic Art (1957) and British Printmakers (1960), which fostered cultural exchange between London and Stockholm. By the time St George’s Gallery closed, she had developed a substantial reputation and began teaching at Bradford Regional College of Art, where she continued promoting contemporary printmaking. In 1965 she co-founded the Printmakers’ Council, championing the idea that printmaking deserved as much professional recognition as painting or sculpture. Three years later, in 1968, she was instrumental in establishing the Bradford Print Biennial, a major forum for showcasing the breadth of contemporary printmaking.

Through these efforts—and her exhibitions in England, Europe, the United States, and Japan—Skiöld broadened the scope of British print culture. Her Print Workshop remained a hub of technical expertise and collaboration. Students and professionals benefited from her lectures at major art schools—including the Royal College of Art, Central, and Chelsea (now part of UAL)—and from her workshops in the United States, Sweden, and Japan. Some went on to found their own studios, such as Kathan Brown with Crown Point Press in San Francisco. Birgit Skiöld died in London, England on 18 May 1982. In the UK public domain, her work is represented in the Women's Art Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Tate collections, among others.

Related books

Alan Windsor, Handbook of Modern British Painting and Printmaking 1900-90 (Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1992)
Natalia Naish, Between Stone and Screen: The Rise of Printmaking in Post-War Britain with a New Emphasis on Robert Erskine and St. George’s Gallery Prints (1955-1963), thesis, School of Arts University of Kent (2023)
Birgit Skiöld: Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Photographs and Artist's Books, 1958-1982 (London: Birgit Skiöld Memorial Trust, 1984)
John McEwen, ‘Exhibitions: Birgit Skiöld’, Art Monthly, 1 June 1984, pp. 19-20
‘Miss Birgit Skiold’, The Times, 4 June 1982, p. 19
Michael Sandle, ‘Artnotes’, Art Monthly, 1 September 1982, p. 20
Birgit Skiöld: Graphics (Sudbury: Gainsborough's House, 1979)
Birgit Skiöld: Recent Paintings and Drawings 1977-78 (Stockholm: Galerie Aronowitsch, 1978) Birgit Skiold and Charles Spencer, Birgit Skiold (London: Editions Alecto, 1978)
‘Birgit Skiold’, Art Monthly, 1 November 1978, p. 21
Raked Garden Square: Prints and Photographs by Birgit Skiöld (London: Commonwealth Institute, 1975)
Chimes: Etchings in Relief by Birgit Skiöld (London: Circle Press Publ., 1969)
Birgit Skiöld: Etchings and Lithographs (London: Curwen Gallery, 1968)
Sydney Goodsir Smith, Fashionably Abstract Graphics, The Scotsman, 18 May 1966, p. 6

Public collections

Related organisations

Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris (student)
Bradford Print Biennial (founder)
Anglo-French Art Centre (student)
Central School of Art (student)
Chelsea School of Art (teacher)
Printmakers Council (founder)
Print Workshop (founder)
Regent Street Polytechnic (student)
Royal College of Art (teacher)
Tekniska Skolan (now Konstfack or University College of Arts, Crafts and Design), Stockholm (student)

Selected exhibitions

Breaking the Silence: Birgit Skiöld, Northern Print, Newcastle upon Tyne (2012)
Breaking the Silence: Birgit Skiöld, Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, Cheltenham (2008)
Birgit Skiold, Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University, Lancashire (2004)
Group exhibition, Oxford Gallery, Oxford (1984)
Birgit Skiold Memorial Exhibition, Cartwright Hall, Bradford (1984)
Group exhibition, Brighton Polytechnic Gallery, Brighton (1983)
Exhibition of Prints by Birgit Skiold, Gainsborough's House, Sudbury, Suffolk (1979)
Prints and Photographs by Birgit Skiöld, Commonwealth Institute, London (1975)
Eastbourne Arts Club Annual Exhibition, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne (1972)
Birgit Skiöld: Prints, Park Square Gallery, Leeds (1972)
Birgit Skiold Prints, Oxford Gallery, Oxford (1971)
Birgit Skiöld: Etchings and Lithographs (London: Curwen Gallery, London, 1968)
Prints from the Charlotte Street Workshop, Curwen Gallery, London (1966)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Birgit Skiöld]