What is Lea Ahlborn?
'''Lea Fredrika Ahlborn''' (''[[née]]'' '''Lundgren''') (18 February 1826 – 13 November 1897) was a famous [[Swedish people|Swedish]] [[artist]]. She was a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Arts, and the first woman to be appointed royal [[printmaker]]. The position of royal printmaker also made her the first female official in Sweden. ==Life== She was [[daughter]] to Ludvig Lundgren, who was a printmaker, and she early decided, that she wanted to become a printmaker too. In [[1849]], she, as well as [[Amalia Lindegren]] and Agnes Börjesson, became one of the four women who were given permission to study art at the Swedish Royal Academy of Arts. In [[1851]], she made a study-trip to [[Paris]] with her teacher [[Carl Gustaf Qvarnström]] and her brother Pehr Henrik. In [[1855]], she was appointed royal printmaker, and was also elected as a member in the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. She kept herself updated in everything regarding her work, and was given assignments from the [[Swedish Academy]], the science academy and the royal academy Pro Patria. She made the medal-portraits to the celebration of the anniversary of the king and queen, and she was hired by the [[US government]] to make the [[medal]] of [[George Washington]] at the centenary (hundred years anniversary) of the end of the [[American War for Independence]] in [[1883]]. In [[1892]], she was given the medal ''Illis Quorum'' by the king. ==Family== Her sister, Carolina Weidenhayn, (1822-1902), became the first professional female xylographer, who after she studied in Paris [[1858]]-[[1867]], became an instructor at the great technical school Tekniska Skolan in [[1859]]-[[1881]]. == Sources == * Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare''. Lund: Signum 1990. ({{ISBN|91-87896-03-6}}) {{bio-stub}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahlborn, Lea}} [[Category:1826 births]] [[Category:1897 deaths]] [[Category:Swedish artists]] [[Category:Printmakers]] [[Category:19th-century artists]]