Rydingsvärd's greatest influence may be his work as a teacher, as he spent most of his career as an educator. Notably, his classes were open to women,[7] and he had a direct influence on future generations of craftsmen due to his work training future teachers of technical arts at theTeachers College in New York[8] and future generations of artists at theRhode Island School of Design.[9]
Rydingsvärd was born in Sweden on November 22, 1863[10] to Axel and Emma Rydingsvärd. He records on his census that he received up to an eighth grade formal education.[11] He learned to carve furniture at the Royal Technical School in Sweden[12][8] before emigrating to the United States in 1883.[10]
Anna von Rydingsvärd
In April 1886, Rydingsvärd married the Boston-born Anna M. Davis.[13] Anna taught as a professor in theMassachusetts Normal Art School in Boston, and was an accomplished translator and author, who wrote magazine articles[14] and a manual for art education in schools,[15] as well as translating from Swedish several books includingMy Lady Legend byAlbrekt Segerstedt[16] in 1891, andVera Vorontzoff bySonja Kovalevsky[17] in 1895. (She is also credited with translatingVerner von Heidenstam'sEndymion andTor Hedberg'sJudas,[15] but there is no evidence that these translations were ever published.)
During the course of their marriage, the couple referred to themselves as members of the Swedish nobility,[18] despite Rydingsvärd having no prominent noble descent, a fact that was reported in Boston area Swedish-language newspapers. Anna referred to herself as Baroness von Proschwitz in her translation work, and gave interviews claiming the title.[19] When Anna filed for divorce in 1897,[1] the false claims of nobility were exposed by the English-language press, including theNew York Times.[20]
In 1899, Rydingsvärd married his former student, Ida Jackson.[1] Ida was also a proficient woodcarver who occasionally exhibited her work with his.[21]
Rydingsvärd became a naturalized citizen of the United States on December 24, 1900.[10] Despite the false claims of nobility coming to light in the 1890s, Rydingsvärd continued to introduce himself as a member of the nobility at least into the 1920s, as papers from the collection ofDouglas Volk, a fellow artist whose family Rydingsvärd worked closely with, introduce him as "Count von Rydingsvärd",[22] and newspapers of the 1910s[23] introduce him with the title of Baron.
He was friends with many other notable artists of the period, includingAmanda Brewster Sewell, who painted his portrait in 1905.[24]
Karl and Ida von Rydingsvärd, withWendell Volk, standing in front of the 85 Clinton St. house in Portland, ME. The house was purchased in 1925. The label on the backside of this photograph, which comes from the Douglas Volk papers, describes Rydingsvärd as a count. Note the carved panels surrounding the door.[22]
Rydingsvärd died on May 2, 1941. His wife Ida died only nineteen days later, on May 21. They are buried together in Evergreen Cemetery[25] in Portland, Maine.
Rydingsvärd was an active contributor to many craft-focused periodicals, writing tutorials and publishing decorative designs intended to be copied by amateur woodcarvers. He provided a multi-part series, "Lessons in Woodcarving", in theArts & Crafts magazine[26] (London, published by Hutchinson and Co.), as well as publishing inArt Amateur,[27][28]International Studio,[29] andThe Craftsman.[30]
In addition to producing his own work, Rydingsvärd ran a school for woodcarving for many years, taking both men and women as pupils[7] and coordinating exhibits of their work.[21] Prior to 1891, Rydingsvärd taught at theBoston Normal School.[9]
In 1896 in Boston, he organized an exhibition focused on the work of women artists.[31] He was a major proponent of women's work in woodcarving, and often spoke about their ability to carve both as a hobby and as a profession.[32]
In 1895,[33] he was a department director in the Manual Training and Arts Education department at theHorace Mann School of theTeachers College in New York[8] and taught woodcarving at their Macy Manual Training High School for girls.
In 1897, in an unusual departure from his work in furniture design and woodcarving, he exhibited at the BostonSociety of Arts and Crafts as a book designer, representing Lamson, Wolffe, and Company.[34] This was the same publisher with which his wife Anna published her translation ofVera Vorontzoff. The cover design and title page illustration for that book are uncredited and unsigned,[17] so it is not known if this was an artistic collaboration between himself and his wife.
In 1904, theLouisiana Purchase Exposition, for the first time in the history of world's fairs, separated displays of machine-made furniture and goods from handmade goods, called "original products of Art workmanship." These were exhibited along with other fine arts in the Palace of Art, rather than the Palaces of Manufactures or Varied Industries as they would have been in previous years.[37] This recognition of handicraft was a major victory for the design reform movement, of which he Rydingsvärd was part. He exhibited at the Exposition for the state of New York,[2] submitting a Norse style bridal chair.[37]
He exhibited his work many times at theNational Arts Club[41] where he was a member, He won a life membership as a prize in the 1914 Society of Craftsmen exhibition.[42] In 1908, he exhibited a desk and other smaller articles[43] (his wife Ida also exhibited at this time[44]); his 1909 exhibition comprised seven pieces, including a copy of a 15th century Flemish picture frame;[45] in 1916, a table and chairs;[46] and his 1919 exhibition featured eight sculpted wood panels with scenes of American pioneers.[41]
A photograph of the 1901 exhibition of the National Arts Club. The desk and chair by Karl von Rydingsvärd are seen at the right[47].
In 1919, Rydingsvärd was the instructor of Art Wood Carving at theOtis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California.[48]
In 1921, Rydingsvärd served as an advisory member of the Committee of the Swedish Section of America's Making.[49]
In 1933, he was a founding member of the Maine Architectural Society.[50]
Advertisement for Rydingsvärd's wood carving schoolDesign for a Norse decoration on a box top by Karl von Rydingsvärd
Rydingsvärd worked in the Arts and Crafts style, which was popular in the United States beginning in the late 1890s.[37] His work is very influenced by Scandinavian decorations, particularly following the decorations and construction style of Scandinavian antiques.[53] His decorative work often features Viking ships, dragons, and scenes from Norse mythology.
Detail view of a desk carved by Rydingsvärd (see model published in the 1909 issue ofThe Craftsman[54]), showing theSkåäng Runestone in Sweden. Rydingsvärd was very influenced by the folklore of his native land.Sö 32, Skåäng
He sometimes worked in a more English Gothic style, especially when designing for clients.
Like many of the Arts and Crafts style furniture makers of the period, he did not use glue or nails in the construction of his furniture, holding the pieces together primarily with heavy pegs and tenons.
Karl von Rydingsvärd desk – International Studio Magazine – 1907
Throughout his life, Rydingsvärd made and sold furniture and architectural features. He often took large commissions to carve sets of furnishings for entire homes, and for friends and artistic collaborators such asDouglas Volk.
Much of Rydingsvärd's surviving work is scattered in private collections, and, aside from the 2016 exhibit[1] at theAmerican Swedish Historical Museum, there has been no comprehensive attempt to document it as a group. Formerly extensive collections, such as the furniture commissioned byTheodore Swann for his Birmingham, Alabama house[5] and the furniture for Robert andAmanda Brewster Sewell's Long Island home "Fleetwood"[4] have been broken up and sold individually.[56]
A chair from the Robert Sewell home "Fleetwood", with carved animal decorations signature to Karl von Rydingsvärd's decorative style, as featured inAmerican Homes and Gardens.[57]
Desk carved in Norwegian style as published in a 1909 issue ofThe Craftsman.[58] At least two variations of this desk exist, one as shown with the crouching lions, and another with walrus figures used aboard theAloha, now held in the Mystic Seaport Museum[59].Front view of a desk by Karl von Rydingsvard (as featured in the 1909 issue ofThe Craftsman[30]), held in a private collectionDetail view of a desk by Karl von Rydingsvard, held in a private collection
The largest collection of Rydingsvärd's furniture is a private collection held by members of the Milliken family, who loaned their collection to theAmerican Swedish Historical Museum for display.[1] In 2023, the museum acquired a large bench for their permanent collection.[60]
TheHermitage Museum in Norfolk, Virginia contains furniture and architectural features carved by Rydingsvärd, including cabinets, an outdoor shrine, and the building'svergeboards.[61]
The Portland, Maine house that Rydingsvärd owned from 1925 to the end of his life maintains several visible architectural features on the exterior, including the doorframes[62].Door carvings on Karl von Rydingsvärd's house in Portland, Maine[62]
Rydingsvärd completed interior carvings and decorations forArthur Curtiss James' yachtAloha II in 1910,[63][64] depicting "the whole story of the development of water transportation"[65] including panels ofChristopher Columbus sailing to America and the NorseVolsung saga.[3] TheAloha was scrapped in 1938 and many of its furnishings were salvaged. Some or all of the panels Rydingsvärd carved are in the permanent collection of theMystic Seaport Museum,[66] as is a desk with walrus figures and other furniture. These were displayed as part of the "Sea as Muse" exhibit, from September 2021 – July 2025.[67]
ThePortland Museum of Art has a carved panel, "The History of Sea Travel", in their permanent collection.[68]
The former home ofDouglas Volk, Hewnoaks inCenter Lovell, Maine, contained furnishings and architectural features carved by Rydingsvärd. Much of the Hewnoaks collection was sold at auction in 2006,[69] but the architectural features, including the carved support beams,[6] remain in the house[70][non-primary source needed]
