Behind Niklas Elmehed’s gold portraits of Nobel Prize winners

Meet the Swedish artist whose gold-leaf illustrations of Nobel Prize winners have everyone talking

Swedish artist Niklas Elmehed is an anonymous celebrity. He lives every artist’s dream — as soon as the portraits drawn by him are revealed, they are seen and shared by millions of people and media channels around the world.

Yet, he’s not a household name. That might change, thanks to a tweet from the Nobel committee stating that Elmehed is the artist behind the distinctive gold-and-black portraits that accompany the annual proclamation of the Nobel Prize winners.

How much time is he given, before the announcement, to draw the portraits? This question, now most frequently asked, is one that he’s not allowed to answer. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that, it’s confidential!” he says with easy good humour, on a Zoom call with The Hindu Weekend from the Nobel committee headquarters in Stockholm. With the Nobel Prizes, it’s not just timing that’s everything, it’s the confidentiality as well.