Finland’s Fount of Culture: Art Music and Design on the Shores of Lake Tuusula

Around 1900 in Finland, some of its most famous painters and writers - and the composer Sibelius - gathered on the shores of tiny Lake Tuusula and built their own country homes. It was an artists’ colony that changed Finland’s soul. Not only was this the golden age of Finnish painting, but a pivotal moment in Finnish history, as these intellectuals forged a cultural identity for the country distinct from its Russian oppressor and set Finland on the road to independence.  Their beautiful lakeside homes are still standing today as national treasures.

James Vaux

James Vaux is a researcher and lecturer specialising in Nordic arts, culture, design and history. His focus is on placing works in their historical context and sharing inside knowledge from his extensive research trips and visits to artists' homes and colonies across the Nordics.