Among his best known works are the Lyhdynkantajat ("Lantern Carriers") sculptures on the front of the Helsinki Central railway station and the monuments to Elias Lönnrot and Johan Vilhelm Snellman.

[1] His parents were construction foreman Johan Erik Wikström and Gustava Samuelintytär Linnamäki.

Some decided to retreat to the peace of the forest, as Wikström wrote in a letter to Axel Gallén in 1898.

Emil Wikström sculpted most of his work in Visavuori [fi], his home and studio in Valkeakoski.

Best remembered for his public monuments in Helsinki, the statues at the railway station, and other cities across Finland, Wikström produced portraits of many statesmen, politicians, businessmen, family and friends, as well as figures from Finnish mythology.