Hilma af Klint

Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings are considered among the first abstract works known in Western art history.  A considerable body of her work predates the first purely abstract compositions by Kandinsky, Malevich and Mondrian.  She belonged to a group called "The Five," comprising a circle of women inspired by Theosophy, who shared a belief in the importance of trying to contact the so-called "High Masters"—often by way of séances.