Ivar Arosenius life was changed when his daughter Eva, affectionally called Lillan, was born. The girl follows him everywhere and, whilst drawing, he follows her. The child became a recurring motif in many of his works. She is depicted while she sleeps, plays, eats, or is on journeys inside the home and out in the garden. In several of these works Arosenius retains the child’s perspective and plays with proportions.

The images have an idealistic, naive effect, and are an exquisite mixture of real situations and fantasies. When Arosenius created his fairy tales, Lillan was herself in the images. That is also how Kattresan came about - a classic of Swedish children’s literature.