Bruno Liljefors

From the summer of 1894, Bruno Liljefors expanded his artistic "hunting grounds" from the plains of Uppland to the Stockholm archipelago, where among the islets, rocky outcrops, waves, and surf, he found new subjects in the rich birdlife of the coastal band.

In 1908, Liljefors purchased Bullerön, located at the outer edge of the Stockholm archipelago. Bullerön is the main island in the Bullerö archipelago, which is now a nature reserve encompassing around 900 islands, islets, and skerries. Here on the island, at Rävängen, the artist built a hunting lodge where he and his family spent their summers. In the early 20th century, Liljefors and his friends in the "Bullerö Group" made the archipelago more widely known. The circle of friends included artists such as Anders Zorn, Albert Engström, Axel Sjöberg, and "the flying baron" Carl Cederström. It is said that when Bruno Liljefors visited his lodge with his friends, they would load a schooner with supplies - plenty of food and drink as well as kitchen staff - and head out to Bullerön. They feasted and enjoyed themselves for several days until the food and drink ran out. Then they simply concluded and headed home. A small bay east of Rävängen is today named "Zorn's Bay" because Zorn used to moor his sailing boat Mejt there.

In 1923, Liljefors sold Bullerön to the businessman and newspaperman Torsten Kreuger, brother of the financier Ivar Kreuger. Kreuger expanded the hunting lodge and invited several famous film stars such as Mary Pickford, Errol Flynn, and Sir Charlie Chaplin to enjoy the Swedish archipelago. The state purchased the Bullerö archipelago in 1967.

From his preserved hunting lodge on Bullerön, which was used by the artist from 1908 to 1923, Liljefors could study the archipelago's birds and animals in their natural environment. It was with inspiration from the beauty of this Swedish archipelago that "Eiders on a Skerry" was created in 1920.