Image collection

Tove Jansson, born on 14 August 1914 and deceased on 27 June 2001, was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author and illustrator from Helsinki. She became world-famous with the Moomin stories, which from the 1940s onward created a distinctive, warmly melancholic fantasy world with subtle humor. Jansson drew and designed the Moomins herself - from the book illustrations to the comics - and in doing so shaped the characters' visual identity in a lasting way. With the Moomins, she became one of the most influential children's book creators of the 20th century, far beyond Finland. (luk)