Sven Berlin (1911 – 1999) was born in South London in 1911, his name deriving from his Swedish ancestry.

He moved to Cornwall during the 1940s and was instrumental in the formation of both the Crypt Group in 1946 and the Penwith Society in 1949. An accepted member of the fabled “St Ives Art Colony” writing, drawing, painting and sculpting ‘ Berlin’ was a remarkable man whose creativity was awesome.

Sven Berlin exhibited widely from the 1940s and his work is held in many public and private collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum.