A history of Lundby paintings

This history could start way back, but I've chosen to begin with the items that can be found in the 1967 catalogue. This is also the year when Lundby's more modern range of bathroom furniture (I've covered those earlier) started, along with several other, more modern items.

So what can we find in the late 1960's? The images in the catalogues aren't as clear as you'd wish, but there are some items that can be identified. If we combine that with the MISB paintings we get a good timeline that tells us when these paintings were released. 

One disclaimer: Even if these paintings were sold by Lundby, they were not produced by Lundby. These early paintings were produced by Sufa. Their products were also sold by Lisa and other brands, so if I don't have the original packages it's impossible to tell if they were sold by one or more brands. I will include the frame variations I've found from these early days, even though I'm not always 100% that Lundby sold that one. With that said: let's get going!

In 1967 we got the first eight new paintings. They were sold up until 1974. Here they are, with the original painting - if I found it - last.  

This is a replica of "La liseuse" (Young girl reading) by Jean-Honore Fragonard. 

This painting is still unidentified.

This is a replica of an unnamed landscape painting by Swedish painter Einar Krüger. 

This is a replica of "Timmerkojan" (The log cabin) by Swedish painter Edvard Bergh. 

This is a replica of "L'etoile" (The star - dancer on stage) by Edgar Degas. 

This painting is still unidentified.

This is a replica of "Dreimaster im Abendrot auf bewegter See" 

(Three master on vivid sea) by Theodore Gudin.

This is a replica of "Grindslanten" by Swedish painter August Malmström.

In 1975 I can find eight new paintings in the catalogue. (They could have been around longer, but this is the first year they appear in the Lundby catalogue).

This is a replica of "Saint Fabiola" by Francis Alÿs.

This is a replica of "The church at Auvers" by Vincent van Gogh.

This is a replica of "Stute mit fullen" (Mare with foal) by Ignac Konrad.

This is a replica of "Paris, L'Arc de Triomphe" by Lucien Delarue.

This is a replica of "Rehböcke" (Roe buck) by Carl Zimmerman.

This is a replica of "Oellites et Clematis dans un Vase de Cristal" (Pinks and Clemastis in a crystal vase) by Edouard Manets. 

This is a replica of "Mattrasor" (Carpet rags) by Swedish painter Sam Uhrdin.

And let's finish of with the last one from this era. 

This is a replica of "Vintersöndag" (Winter sunday) by Swedish painter Anders Altzar.

Now, before we move on to the paintings that were produced by Lundby, I've noticed a pattern with the Sufa paintings. They come in groups of 4/8. By that I mean that they are similar in size and has the same sort of frame. Lundby sold them with one from each group - eight were released in 1967, the other in 1975. This pattern is repeated later on, so we'll get back to that.

Here are some examples of paintings in their original packages from around 1969/70. 

Here are two more examples of paintings in their original packaging from around 1975.

 

These 4 + 4 paintings have a different design on the original packaging since they were sold later than the previous painting we looked at. Original packaging changes over the years, so it's generally a useful tool when you want to determine when an item was produced. 


In 1976 we get lots of new additions. This is also the first batch of paintings that is produced by Lundby themselves, not by Sufa. I can't find any Sufa paintings in the catalogue after 1975, so I think it's safe to say that they were produced between 1967-1975.

These paintings were new in 1976:

This is a replica of a Foxhunt motive by Heinrich Faust. 

This is a replica of "Madonnina" by Roberto Perruzzi.

This is a replica of "Hirsch am See" (Deer by the lake) by George Kuboth.

This is a replica of "Rosa gallica latifola" (Gallic rose) 

from the collection "Les roses" by Pierre-Joseph Redouté

This is a replica of "Mare with foal" by Heinrich Faust. 

This is a replica of "Happy days" by Luigi Serena. 

Here are some of the paintings above in their original packaging:

In 1977, there's a big new thing: the Swedish king and queen! They were married in 1976. This picture was taken at their engagement in March 1976, and is very well known in Sweden.

1977 was apparently a big royal dollhouse year. This painting was, as far as I know, only released in the UK (and perhaps other commonwealth nations) to celebrate the queen's silver jubilee.

Some other news can also be spotted in the background in the catalogues from 1977-79, even if they aren't promoted. They are these:

This painting is still unidentified - even though I found the original one online... 

This is a replica of Clement Bayard "Constance" (Car model) from 1912.

There was also a poster sold around the same time. I don't know much about it, but I'll include it here.

And that concludes the 1970's. Now, lets move over to the 1980's. These can be seen in the catalogue from 81/82.

This is a replica of "Portrait of Madame Edmond Caillard" by Ary Scheffer

These are two illustrations by Hiroaki Ikeda. The first one is named "Christine". The second one is still waiting for me to find its name. 

This is a replica of "The Epsom Derby" by Théodore Géricault.

This is a replica of "Return of the fishing boats" by Andre Derain. I've found this in five different frames so var: Yellow, red, pale with gold accents, matt gold and shining gold. 

In the same catalogue we can also find several other new items on different pages.

This is a replica of "Des glaneuses" (The gleaners) by Jean-Francois Millet.  

This is a replica of  "Jeune fille se peignant" (Young girl combing her hair) by Auguste Renoir. 

This is a replica of "Vendedora de alcatraces" (The flower seller) by Diego Rivera.

Here are some of the paintings above in their original packaging.

Before we move on - remember the "group of four"? It still exists. The only exception is the two paintings with royals from 1977.

In 1984, Lundby is introducing a new range of paintings, along with new houses and lots of new furniture. They were made in two versions: One thinner with more pale colours and thicker with brighter colours. The thicker/brighter colour version is the updated, later version. I do believe that these are replicas of original watercolour paintings, but I haven't found any of the originals. Yet. 

Here they are in their original packaging. The thinner/older ones first. 

There is also an updated version of these, found in the catalogue from 1990. Those three paintings are more rare, and seems to have produced only for a few years. In the catalogue from 1993, the paintings are again the first three. They can be found as late as around 2000.

In 1999, Lundby retires the old range of paintings. The last catalogue picture, and last items, are these. (They now all have gold frames, so they changed a bit from 1984 when they first appeared).

The water colour paintings survive a bit longer - they are last seen in 2004. This gives them a very long lifespan of 20 years.


From 2000, Lundby introduces posters and photographs in their furniture range. I'm not getting too deeply involved with these here. But there is one interesting item from the 2000 catalogue. It's a quartet of paintings that belong in a child's room. They have wooden frames - quite unusual.

This is the only year I can find them, so I think it's safe to say that they were only produced for a short period of time. My best guess is ca 2000-2002.

In the same catalogue you can also find a bean bag and three posters - presumably for a kids room as well. These are the three posters:

... and here is their original package. They came with a pink beanbag and a teddybear. 

Before we move on to an entirely new range of paintings, there is another branch of Lundby that needs attention: The advent calendars. Lundby released three of these: in 2004, 2005 and 2007. The advent calendars contained smaller items for the dollhouses, including paintings.

The 2004 calendar had two: the Lundby family picture and a picture of a girl.

The 2005 advent calendar supplied pictures of a zebra and a bird.

Finally, the 2007 edition gave us this one. I think that it's a Christmas star with something sparkly on it.

In 2005, Lundby updated their range with new houses, furniture and of course also paintings. We get the new Småland and Stockholm houses. Another thing that also changes is that the paintings are no longer sold together - they are included in different living room sets. So from here on I won't be bothering you with all the original packaging :)

These two paintings comes with the Stockholm house in 2005. The first one is called "Prinsessan" (the princess), the second one "Tre" (three). (Yes, as in number three). They were produced between 2005-2009.

The catalogue information also gives us the name of the artist: Lisa Rinnevuo. She seems to be the artist in residence for many years to come.

The Småland house gets this new set of art on the walls in 2006 - five paintings/photos. They were sold in a package with a pink mirror, and were produced between 2006-2010.

The Stockholm range adds another painting - two versions - to the line-up in 2007.

Just as the previous items, it's Lisa Rinnevuo who is the artist. The painting is called "Bambi".

In 2010 we get a pink version of the princess painting from 2005. It was produced between 2010-2016.

The Småland range gets a big make-over in 2011. It's interesting that the catalogue images from 2011 isn't the finished product. All these three looks a bit different in the catalogue. (The next catalogue has updated images that look like the actual paintings). They were produced between 2011-2014 (the city skyline) and 2011-2017 (the princess paintings).

The two paintings and mirror above was the last that package with only mirrors that Lundby sold. From around 2010, the paintings were sold together with other items, mainly living room sets. 

2013 range of Småland winter/christmas items also includes a new painting. The original was later donated to Astrid Lindgrens children hospital in Stockholm. It was produced between 2013-2019 (still in production).

In 2015, this painting comes with a living room set. It was produced between 2015-2019.

And finally, to round up this history, we get a new version of this in 2018. Does it look familiar? It should - this is the third version of the same painting. Recycling is clearly gaining ground here.

This blogpost was updated July 2024 and the yellow painting above is the latest one released by Lundby/Micki so far. We'll have to wait and see if they decide to produce more paintings or if they stop making them, just like they did with curtains. We have to wait and see.