1915-1945

1915-1945 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html Tapio Wirkkala was born on 2 June 1915 in Hanko, South Finland, where he spent his childhood and youth with his parents Ilmari and Selma and his younger siblings Tauno and Helena. All the children of the family inherited artistic talent from their parents and later went on to occupations in the arts. The family moved to Helsinki in the 1920s. Wirkkala's drawing skills were already noticed in primary school and he studied ornamental sculpture at the Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1933 to 1936. Wirkkala began his working career as a commercial artist. In these years, he won, among other contests, a design competition held for a postage stamp to commemorate the 1940 Helsinki Olympics, which were cancelled because of the war. The war also interrupted Wirkkala's work, but he was able to participate in several crafts competitions held for servicemen. During the war, he sculpted, for example, a monument featuring the heraldic lion of Finland in honour of the conquest of Petrozavodsk in Russian Karelia by Finnish troops in 1941. This work is presently at the Suomenlinna Fortress in Helsinki. In 1941, Wirkkala was commissioned to design a badge for a Finland-Sweden walking contest for the public Tapio. http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#0 afca6165-df6b-4aee-855c-3e04a8b22d46 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/Tapio/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/Tapio/micro.jpg

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<div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_0_0"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Tapio.</p></div></div> Drawing from third grade in primary school http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#1 78caa340-1e21-4f3b-ad90-fa5df37569b6 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/HENET/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/HENET/micro.jpg

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<div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_0_0"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Drawing from third grade <br/></p><p class="Caption">in primary school<br/></p></div></div> Wooden sculpture from Wirkkala's student years http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#2 b79aa1ce-d71b-49d8-941e-2f6c94d43bd5 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/VEISTOS2/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/VEISTOS2/micro.jpg

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<div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_0_0"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Wooden sculpture from <br/></p><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; " class="Caption">Wirkkala's student years</p></div></div> Sheath knife, First Prize in a wartime servicemen's craft competition http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#3 cfd4e0e0-4695-4326-81a6-50e6f2306539 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/4/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/4/micro.jpg

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<div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_0_0"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Sheath knife, First Prize in a wartime servicemen's <br/></p><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; " class="Caption">craft competition</p></div></div> Monument to the conquest of Petrozavodsk http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#4 832da218-a3f7-40a7-94ba-fded659ab986 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/SUOMEN%7E2/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/SUOMEN%7E2/micro.jpg

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<div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_0_0"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Monument to the conquest of Petrozavodsk</p></div></div> Finland-Sweden walking contest badge, 1941 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#5 ba1648dd-949b-496a-8f25-ae6480f1980f http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/images2/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/images2/micro.jpg

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<div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_0_0"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Finland-Sweden walking contest badge, 1941</p></div></div> Ashtray, aircraft aluminium, 1942 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945.html#6 d9b3c2d6-5b80-4827-99a4-9cd5d5a762b5 http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/6%20kopio/thumb.jpg http://www.wirkkala.fi/e_wirkkala/Biography/Sivut/1915-1945_files/Media/6%20kopio/micro.jpg

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