In Undiscovered Ilon Wikland, we are invited to see a new side of Ilon’s creative world. In addition to the 800 originals in the museum’s permanent collection, 65 works from the family’s private archive are now on display. These include completed illustrations as well as deeply personal sketches and visual notes that have never been published before. Among them: early fairytale drawings from Ilon’s teenage years, charming magazine illustrations, and quiet everyday moments captured just to remember or practise.
At the centre of the room stands a colourful round tabletop – a replica of the one Ilon painted for the UN’s 50th anniversary in 1995, which was auctioned for UNICEF and sold for SEK 250,000. It unexpectedly resurfaced ten years later, when Ilon’s daughter Birgitta found it for sale again – now reborn in this exhibition.
You’ll also get to follow the creative process behind two picture books: In My Grandmother’s House (2005) and The Potato Children (2007), including early sketches, black-and-white layouts, charcoal drafts, and pastel colour studies – step by step from idea to finished book.
Two rare early folding books from the family’s archive are also on view – offering a window into Ilon’s fairy-tale universe in an entirely new format.
⏰ Open until: February 8, 2026
📍 Location: Ilon’s Wonderland, Haapsalu, Estonia (approx. 1 hour from Tallinn by car or ferry/flight)
ℹ️ More info: salm.ee/
