Moomins

Tove Jansson is without a doubt one of the best Finnish artists of all time and also the most widely read Finnish author abroad. Her lifework is of immeasurable value because of the success she made as a writer, artist and cartoonist. She was a multi-talented artist who is mostly remembered as the creator of the Moomins. The Moomin books have been translated into over fifty languages.

In addition to the Moomin books and comics, Tove Jansson also received recognition for her short stories and novels. Her worldwide fame is also recognisable because she succeeded to write for both children and adults at the same time.

As a child Tove spent summers with her relatives in the Stockholm archipelago. It was from the summer house in Blidö and the area surrounding it that Tove drew her inspiration for Moominvalley and the Moominhouse with its terrace and slender tower. Part of the family tradition was also to spend summers in Pellinki, out in the archipelago of the Gulf of Finland. All these summer memories played a part in shaping Tove’s love for islands, big or small.

In the beginning of 1960 Tove and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä found a perfect island Klovharu in the Pellinki archipelago. They built a small summer house where they spent over 30 summers together. For Tove islands were the symbols of freedom.