Danish ceramicist Bjoern Wiinblad, best known for his pottery decorated with native fairy characters and trademark cherubic maidens, has died, his secretary said on Friday. He was 87.
Wiinblad died shortly before midnight on Thursday, said Goy Badse, his secretary of 45 years.
Wiinblad graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1943, setting up his own shop in 1952.
He had his first major exhibition in 1954, and some of his works were included in an exhibition of Scandinavian art at the Brown Stone Gallery in New York.
Wiinblad later displayed his work in dozens of art galleries and museums in countries across the world, including Japan, Australia and Canada.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Danish Museum of Art and Design in Copenhagen featured his work in separate exhibitions.
The ceramicist often shaped or painted pottery to depict women holding baskets with flowers or birds, or dancing. Some can be seen in restaurants and hotels in Denmark, Japan and the United States.
He also created a fountain for Copenhagen’s famed Tivoli Garden amusement park.
Wiinblad also designed costumes and scenery for ballets and plays in Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
A funeral service is scheduled for June 16, Badse said.
Wiinblad never married. — Sapa-AP