Emil Wikström
Emil Wikström was a Finnish sculptor. Among his best known works are the Lyhdynkantajat sculptures on the front of the Helsinki Central railway station and the monuments to Elias Lönnrot and Johan Vilhelm Snellman.
Career
His parents were construction foreman Johan Erik Wikström and Gustava Samuelintytär Linnamäki. Emil Wikström studied art in Finnish Art Association's drawing school in Turku and Helsinki, in the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and also in Académie Julian in Paris. Wikström as well as other artists took inspiration for their art from their own country's cultural mythology. Finnish artists studied and worked in Paris. Some decided to retreat to the peace of the forest, as Wikström wrote in a letter to Axel Gallén in 1898. Wikström was the first to carry out his plan and found ideal place for himself in Sääksmäki by Vanajavesi.Emil Wikström sculpted most of his work in, his home and studio in Valkeakoski. Wikström was one of the most important Finnish sculptors of his time. Best remembered for his public monuments in Helsinki, the statues at the railway station, and other cities across Finland, Wikström produced portraits of many statesmen, politicians, businessmen, family and friends, as well as figures from Finnish mythology.
He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.
Visavuori was opened to the public as a museum in 1967. There, many of the original casts and studies are on display.