Biography
Kerstin Maria ‘Maja’ Fjæstad, née Hallén (b. Hörby, Sweden 1873 – d. Arvika, Sweden 1961) first studied painting in Landskrona when she was only 11 and later attended the Konstnärsförbundet (the Artists’ Union’s School) in Stockholm. She was a member of the Rackstad group in Arvika, which was founded by her husband Gustaf Adolf Christensen Fjæstad (1868-1948) and the sculptor Christian Eriksson (1858-1935), whom she modelled for. She was a textile and woodcut artist who also had success in England with her painted portraits. In 1922 she established a local handicraft shop in Arvika which still exists 100 years later.
