Anna-Stina Malmborg & Gunnar Höglund Collection – one of Sweden’s leading private art collections to be offered at The Modern Art Sale

When Anna-Stina Malmborg (1929–2025) and Gunnar Höglund (1931–2019) began collecting art in the 1960s, Stockholm was a meeting place for the new art emerging internationally. The city’s galleries maintained close links with the art scenes in New York, Paris and across Europe. Gallery openings brought together artists, critics and collectors, offering those with curiosity and a willingness to take risks the chance to discover artists long before their place in art history was established.

The couple travelled extensively, seeking out artists and leading gallerists. On a trip to Rome, they visited Cy Twombly, whose work they subsequently acquired. That work is now in the collection of Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Another memorable encounter took place in 1981, when they met Andy Warhol at his celebrated Factory in New York. Warhol offered to make a portrait of Anna-Stina Malmborg.

“Anna-Stina Malmborg and Gunnar Höglund remained passionate and active collectors until the very end. They combined a strong artistic instinct with an open, international outlook. They recognised what was interesting and innovative in contemporary art and had the conviction to follow their own judgement. The result is a remarkable collection that reflects both their personal commitment and their ability to identify art of enduring significance,” says Lena Rydén, Director of Fine Art at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

In November 2016, the couple received the Swedish government’s Illis quorum medal, eighth class. The citation recognised their contribution to making modern art accessible to the public, including through substantial donations to Moderna Museet.

Among the highlights of the sale is Antony Gormley’s Iron Baby, a solid cast-iron sculpture depicting the artist’s daughter at six days old. Its compact form sets the vulnerability of a newborn against the sculpture’s considerable physical weight. The estimate is SEK 2.5–3 million.

Claes Oldenburg’s Pastries from 1964 turns everyday baked goods into art, reflecting Pop Art’s fascination with the imagery and objects of consumer culture. Arranged on an actual plate, the pastries play with the boundary between the real and the reproduced. Martial Raysse’s Femme Leopard explores a central concern of French Pop Art: the influence of advertising and mass media on contemporary ideals of beauty. Through a stylised female portrait, Raysse examines the ways in which modern visual culture shapes our perception of identity.

The collection also features works by Christo, Manolo Millares, Antoni Tàpies, Alighiero Boetti and Niki de Saint Phalle, alongside works by Swedish artists ranging from Torsten Andersson and Lars Englund to Marie-Louise Ekman and Andreas Eriksson.

“For today’s collectors and visitors, this collection offers an opportunity to encounter several important artists in dialogue with one another. Its significance lies not only in the individual works, but also in the way it brings together a generation of influential artists who transformed artistic practice and whose work continues to resonate in contemporary art,” says Lena Rydén.

The Anna-Stina Malmborg & Gunnar Höglund Collection will be on view at Stockholms Auktionsverk, Nybrogatan 32, from 6 to 16 November. The Modern Art Sale will take place on 18 November and will be streamed live to a global audience.

The proceeds from the sale will benefit the Anna-Stina Malmborg & Gunnar Höglund foundations, which support research in art history and medicine.