The Collection of British Tokens formed by the late Sven Gahlin

Sven Gahlin

Sven Gahlin, the world-renowned art historian, was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 24 May 1934 but when he was six months old his parents moved to England, where Sven lived for the rest of his life. Returning to Sweden for holidays after 1945, the collection of Rembrandt and Durer prints owned by his grandather sowed the seeds for an interest in art, and especially drawings, that was nurtured by Sir Kyffin Williams, RA (1918-2006), his art master at Highgate School, where Sven became Head Boy.

On leaving school, Sven spent two years studying Old Master drawings in the British Museum and a further two years in the department of drawings at the Louvre. While at the latter he spent time with the great self-taught Dutch connoisseur, Frits Lugt (1884-1970), studying the art which now forms the Fondation Custodia. But it was Williams, a lifelong friend, who encouraged Sven to pursue his interest in art on a professional basis. At the time, good Italian and French drawings of the 16th to 18th centuries could be bought for under £10. In 1956 Sven started his working career as an assistant to Francis Matthiesen (1897- 1963), whose gallery, specialising in...