Anna Harley's family background has been a frequent source of inspiration for her work, providing the artist with the oportunity of exploring her Scandinavian origins and uncovering and examining her cultural background.

In  2002, Anna Harley's maternal grandmother, Maj Sahlin, comissioned her to produce a painting of Martenstorp - the estate that her great grandfather bought in the early nineteenth century. The land at Martenstorp, located in central Sweden, has been subdevided into family plots down the generations, and many of the Sahlin descendents still live, or own, summer houses here. Anna painted a schematic map of her relatives' houses in Martenstorp as a historical record for the current generation, with a traditional twist - the painting was executed in 'Kurbits' style, the Swedish, Darlecaria  Folk art tradition of the nineteenth century. A limited edition gyclee print has since been produced and this can now be found hanging in the houses of several of Anna's relations.

Slideshow of Martenstorp print