Ragna Bruno (1935–2026)

Ragna Bruno (1935–2026) Biography

Ragna Bruno (1935–2026) was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of a German father, and a Swedish mother. She was raised in a multilingual family and is fluent in Spanish, German, English, and French. Throughout her early life, Bruno studied dance, music, and art in Madrid, Switzerland, and London. Her father was a poet and businessman, who came from a long line of artists and architects; her mother, a sculptor who spoke six languages. Their friends were artists and musicians, and Bruno grew up immersed in the arts at home and at school. From the age of fourteen until she went to study abroad, Bruno made it a point to visit the Prado Museum everyday, walking a half hour each way.

Bruno traveled extensively in Europe, Central and South America, and India. She owned an antique store in Madrid, and co-founded Bermúsica, an international concert management company based in Madrid with its own concert series, “Orchestras of the World.”

Bruno came to the U.S. in 1975 to marry Werner Torkanowsky, a world renowned conductor. The couple moved to Hancock, Maine, in 1977. Here Bruno was able to pursue her passion for art and to commit to being a full-time artist. Bruno continues to live and maintain a studio in Hancock, and visits Spain frequently to see family and friends.

“This is is why I have long seen Bruno as a particularly worthy Maine painter. It’s not her cultural erudition or her art historical nuance: It’s because her work is so effectively authentic and personal that we seem to directly connect to her subjective perspective. The solitude of her painting is quiet, beautiful and free. And that is a good place for any of us to be.”

—Daniel Kany, excerpt Courthouse Gallery catalog 2019

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