A strong expressive quality characterises Sven X:et Erixson’s views of Stockholm from the 1930s. Together with his beloved Bojan, he lived on Södermalm, first on Urvädersgränd and, from 1934, on Bastugatan, with expansive views over the city. His desire to record both the grand and the seemingly insignificant appears to have been inexhaustible. The everyday lives of the people and the diversity of the city fascinated him, as did the new neon signs and lights that transformed the cityscape after nightfall. Stockholm was undergoing rapid change, as modernity’s new forms of expression and technological advances gradually made their mark on the urban landscape.

X:et’s immediate surroundings offered a wealth of motifs. One of the most spectacular was the redevelopment of Slussen, the city’s bustling transport hub, during the early years of the 1930s. He was particularly captivated by the old Katarinahissen, built in timber in 1883. With its steel construction and technical elegance, it brought to mind the Eiffel Tower in Paris and appeared as a symbol of the progress of the modern age. The lift was originally powered by steam, but was electrified in 1915. The famous Stomatol sign, Sweden’s first animated neon sign, was also associated with the site. It was installed on Katarinahissen in 1909 and moved in 1933 to a nearby building at Klevgränd 1.

It was above all the old Katarinahissen that occupied X:et’s attention. He returned to the motif time and again, to such an extent that he is said to have joked about his fascination. Before an exhibition in Norway, he reportedly said: “I have painted it so many times now that they saw no other option but to demolish it.” The lift was indeed demolished in 1933, before he had completed his final work featuring the motif. The new Katarinahissen was completed in 1935, but lacked the distinctive character of its predecessor that had captivated the artist. In the structure of the old lift, X:et found not only a recurring motif, but also a concentrated image of a Stockholm in transition.