Biography
Early life
Hilma af Klint was born to a family of swedish aristocrats, a 4th child of naval commander Captain Victor af Klint and his wife Mathilda af Klint (née Sonntag).
Her father, though not very rich, was granted a noble title and an appartment in the centre of Stockholm due to his excellence on His Majesty's service.
They also had a mannor on the island of Adelsö in Lake Mälaren, where Hilma used to spent summers with her family. There she came into deep contact with nature, something believed to be quintessential to the later development of her artistic style.
Education
From her family, Hilma af Klint inherited a great interest for mathematics and botanic. She showed an early ability in visual art, and after the family moved to Stockholm, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Stockholm (Konstakademien), where she learned portraiture and landscape painting.
After graduating, she was admitted to Royal Academy of Fine Arts, despite the general trend that women in Sweden were not allowed into universities. During the years 1882-1887 she studied mainly drawing, and portrait- and landscape painting. She graduated with honors, and was allocated a scholarship in the form of a studio in the so called "Atelier Building", which was the main cultural hub Stockholm at that time. There she continued working on her conventional painting, which remained the source of her income for the rest of her life. Her real interest, however, was quite different...
