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<p><strong>Bjørn Wiinblad</strong>&nbsp;(20 September 1919 – 8 June 2006), was a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark">Danish</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painting">painter</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designer">designer</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist">artist</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_art">ceramics</a>, silver, bronze, textiles, and graphics. His work has been shown widely in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe">Europe</a>, in the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America">United States of America</a>&nbsp;first in 1954 and in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan">Japan</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia">Australia</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada">Canada</a>&nbsp;in 1968. Wiinblad was named Man of the Year in New York in 1985 and was awarded the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American-Scandinavian_Foundation">American-Scandinavian Foundation’s</a>&nbsp;Cultural Prize of 1995.&nbsp;<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rn_Wiinblad#cite_note-kul-1">[1]</a></sup></p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="Background">Background</h2>
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<p>Bjørn Wiinblad was born in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen,_Denmark">Copenhagen, Denmark</a>. He attended a drawing school in Copenhagen then from 1940 to 1943 he studied painting and illustration at the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Academy_of_Fine_Arts">Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts</a>.<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rn_Wiinblad#cite_note-kul-1">[1]</a></sup></p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="Commissions">Commissions</h2>
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<p>He was attached to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States">United States</a> Embassy in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris">Paris</a> in 1947 as a poster designer. Later his posters illustrated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen">Copenhagen</a>'s famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens">Tivoli Gardens</a> and many other activities in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark">Denmark</a>, as well as the Olympic Games for the Handicapped at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul">Seoul</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Symphony_Orchestra">New World Symphony Orchestra</a> academy in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami">Miami</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Ballet">Royal Danish Ballet</a> at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Opera_House_(Lincoln_Center)">Metropolitan Opera House</a>, all in 1988. His textile work was used for costumes for numerous ballets and stage presentations.</p>
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<p>Wiinblad illustrated the work of his fellow&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_people">Dane</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen">Hans Christian Andersen</a>, when he took on the task of providing the artwork for "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swineherd">The Swineherd</a>"(195 ) which won an award from the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Library_Association">American Library Association</a>. Wiinblad's "swineherd" illustrations were turned into a short animated film by&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Deitch">Gene Deitchfor</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Woods_Studios">Weston Woods Studios</a>.&nbsp;<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rn_Wiinblad#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup></p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="Rosenthal_Porcelain_Company">Rosenthal Porcelain Company</h3>
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<p>Wiinblad was an important designer for the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenthal_(company)">Rosenthal</a>&nbsp;porcelain company. His most popular Rosenthal dinnerware design, Romance (Romanze), was a typical Wiinblad design in terms of its incredible level of fine decorative detail. Starting in 1971, he also designed an annual commemorative&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas">Christmas</a>&nbsp;plate for Rosenthal. Wiinblad also designed ceramic pieces for&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nymolle&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1">Nymolle</a>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark">Danish</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery">pottery</a>.&nbsp;<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rn_Wiinblad#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup></p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="Dallas,_Texas">Dallas, Texas</h3>
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<p>In 1954 Wiinblad began collaborating with businesses and organizations in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas,_Texas">Dallas, Texas</a>, and later operated a store in the city during the 1980s. He received commissions from the Dallas Ballet (costume and set design),&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Theater_Center">Dallas Theater Center</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neiman_Marcus">Neiman Marcus</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanks-Giving_Square">Thanks-Giving Square</a>, and multiple projects for developer&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trammell_Crow">Trammell Crow</a>. For the Dallas International Apparel Mart he designed five massive Scheherazade tapestries, where they were displayed from 1973 until the building was closed in 2004.<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rn_Wiinblad#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup></p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="Style">Style</h2>
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<p>Characteristics of Wiinblad's work include whimsical round-faced people, dressed in vaguely 19th-century costume. They are often surrounded by natural elements: twining vines, floral wreaths, and fantastical trees. When Wiinblad employed&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color">color</a>, he did so with great assurance. His colors are saturated and strong—sometimes almost&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_art">psychedelic</a>—and are often supplemented with&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal">metallic</a>&nbsp;gold or silver.</p>
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