Olof Arborelius (1842-1915) Sweden

Landscape, likely from the Uddevalla area

oil on canvas
signed O.Arb.s 
unframed: 25 x 35 cm (9 7/8 x 13 3/4 in)
framed: 43.5 x 53 cm (17 1/8 x 20 7/8 in)

Provenance:
A private collection Lysekil, Sweden

Essay:
This beautifully rendered landscape by Olof Arborelius captures the serene stillness of a summer’s day, likely set in the lush surroundings of the Uddevalla region on Sweden’s west coast. Rolling forested hills meet the quiet surface of the water, which reflects the greenery with striking clarity. A few scattered cottages nestle between the trees, evoking a timeless sense of Swedish rural life. The painting comes in its finely preserved ornamented original frame (with some minor flaws)

Olof Arborelius (1842–1915) was a prominent Swedish painter known for his depictions of folk life and sweeping landscapes. Born in Orsa, Dalarna, Arborelius was deeply influenced by his native region and the traditions of Swedish genre painting. After studying for seven years at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, he embarked on an extended study tour across Europe. Upon his return in 1872, he became an associate of the Academy and later served as both instructor and professor, shaping generations of Swedish artists.

Though he aligned himself with the progressive Opponent movement in the 1880s, Arborelius remained stylistically rooted in the naturalism of the Düsseldorf School. His works reflect a deep attachment to realism and a gradually evolving use of more vibrant colors and monumental compositions in his later years. He was often noted—and sometimes criticized—for his distinctive use of green, most famously by Fritz von Dardel.

Arborelius’s works are represented in numerous major museum collections, including the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Ateneum in Helsinki, and several regional museums throughout Sweden. 

This painting is a fine example of Arborelius’s mature landscape work—an evocative and tranquil scene, imbued with both technical finesse and heartfelt connection to the Swedish countryside.

Fritz Lindström (1874-1962) Sweden 

Coastal Landscape, Kullen, 1917

oil on canvas
signed and dated Fritz Lindström -17
unframed: 51.5 x 57 cm (20 1/4 x 22 1/2 in)
framed: 60 x 76 cm (23 5/8 x 29 7/8 in)
framed in a handcrafted black frame by Christer Björkman,
one of Europe’s foremost master framers.

Essay:
This luminous painting by Fritz Lindström, dated 1917, captures the dramatic coastline of Kullen—also known as Kullaberg—on Sweden’s northwestern tip. With its radiant palette and rhythmic brushwork, the painting is a vibrant symphony of light and colour. Sunlight enters from the left, bathing the sea in silvery hues while casting lilac shadows along the shoreline. The steep cliffs shimmer in shades of green, violet, and blue, their form accentuated by Lindström’s confident, broken brushstrokes.

This work was created during the same period as Saltvatten, 1917, another striking painting from Kullen that we’ve previously had the pleasure of handling. Both works reflect Lindström’s deep sensitivity to coastal light and his bold use of colour—hallmarks of his mature style.

Kullen, or the Kullahalvön peninsula, lies between Öresund and Skälderviken in northwestern Skåne. At its tip rises Kullaberg, a rugged outcrop of Precambrian rock plunging dramatically into the sea. The area has long attracted artists and visitors with its stark beauty, wild cliffs, and sea views. Today, Kullaberg is a nature reserve, treasured for its unique geology and panoramic vistas.

Fritz Lindström (1874–1962) began his artistic career as a decorative painter in Grabow’s studio, where he met Björn Ahlgrensson—who would later introduce him to the artists’ colony in Värmland. Lindström studied at the Artists’ Association School and later at Valand under Carl Larsson. In 1903, he settled at Väststuga by Lake Racken, becoming a central figure in the Racken Group of artists. Though he often struggled financially, portrait commissions supported him, and his celebrated work Elden (1905) remains a high point of Swedish early modernism.

As the last surviving member of the Racken Group, Lindström’s passing in 1962 marked the end of an era. His contribution to the cultural life of Arvika and to Swedish art history is significant—not only through his work, but through his influence on the artists who followed him.

This painting from Kullen stands as a powerful example of his later landscape work: radiant, expressive, and richly atmospheric.

Condition: Recently restored by a professional art conservator. The colors are bright and strong. Ready to hang. 

Olof Arborelius (1842–1915) Sweden 

Summer Reflection, Engelsberg

oil on board
c. 1880-1890
signed with monogram OA
unframed: 23 x 17 cm (9 x 6 3/4 in)
framed: 33.5 x 27 cm (13 1/8 x 10 5/8 in)
handcrafted frame by Stockholm Förgyllning och Bildhuggeri included.

On the reverse: printed estate label reading “Painted by Olof Arborelius, certified,” signed by E. T. Arborelius, the artist’s son.

Provenance:
The artist’s estate, with stamp on the reverse; Swedish private collection.

Essay:
This intimate plein air study by Olof Arborelius captures the quiet beauty of a sunlit forest edge reflected in still water. The confident, spontaneous brushwork and delicate handling of light and shade suggest it was painted directly from nature—en plein air—a method Arborelius often used, especially during his time in Engelsberg, where this work was most likely created.

Engelsberg held a special place in Arborelius’s artistic life and is also the setting for his most famous painting, Sverigetavlan, now in the collection of Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Though modest in scale, this small panel radiates presence and mood, demonstrating Arborelius’s skill in conveying atmosphere with a restrained palette and expressive brushwork. The painting is presented in a hand-gilded frame made by Stockholm Förgyllning och Bildhuggeri.

Olof Arborelius was a key figure in Swedish genre and landscape painting. Born in Orsa in 1842, he studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts and spent several years traveling and studying in Europe before returning to Sweden. In 1902, he was appointed professor at the Academy, where he influenced a new generation of artists.

Though associated with the Düsseldorf school and the academic tradition, Arborelius embraced elements of the opponentmovement’s freer realism in his later work. Known especially for his depictions of rural life in Dalarna, his palette evolved over the years toward clearer tones and more monumental compositions.

Arborelius is represented in several major collections, including the Nationalmuseum, Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Ateneum in Helsinki, and Nordiska Museet. His legacy also lives on through sketchbooks and materials donated by his descendants to the Academy of Fine Arts, including a remarkable early stamp collection now held at the Postmuseum in Stockholm.

Wilhelm von Gegerfelt (1844–1920) Sweden

Canal in Venice

signed “W. Gegerfelt”
Oil on wood panel, purchased by the artist at Emilio Aickelin, Via 22 Marzo, Venice — a renowned supplier of artists’ materials
unframed: 38 x 26 cm (15 x 10 1/4 in)
framed: 47 x 34.5 cm (18 1/2 x 13 5/8 in)

Essay:
In this luminous canal scene, painted during his stay in Venice in the early 1880s, Wilhelm von Gegerfelt captures the vivid atmosphere and dazzling light of the city with remarkable immediacy. Executed with short, spontaneous brushstrokes and areas of impasto, the painting also reveals the artist’s use of the reverse end of his brush to incise fine details — as seen in the rigging of the sails — a technique famously used by Rembrandt. Gegerfelt lets parts of the warm brown panel remain visible, lending the composition an earthy undertone and enhancing its lively, plein air character.

The painting exemplifies Gegerfelt’s mature style, marked by a refined sensitivity to light, air, and fleeting impressions. As art historian Viggo Loos writes in Friluftsmåleriets genombrott i svensk konst 1860–1885 (1945, p. 254):
“At his best, Gegerfelt attains an impressionistic lightness in his depiction of the interplay of light and atmosphere over canals and lagoons, and a graceful softness in his small studies. In his earliest paintings, one senses a deep infatuation with the southern light, with the tonal interplay of the façades, and with the shifting hues of the intensely blue skies.”

Gegerfelt first visited Venice in 1882, at the same time as Carl Skånberg and Georg Pauli. Like them, he was deeply influenced by the southern light and vibrant street life, which transformed his palette and approach. His Venetian works are often characterized by a looseness and clarity that mark a departure from the academic landscape tradition.

A pivotal figure in Scandinavian art, Gegerfelt helped bridge the gap between the German-inspired romantic landscape painting of the 19th century and the emerging plein air realism of the 1870s. His bold handling of color would inspire artists such as Carl Fredrik Hill, with whom he shared a close friendship during his years in Paris.

After more than a decade in France, Gegerfelt returned to Sweden in 1888, settling first in Uppsala, where he briefly taught Prince Eugen, and later in his native Gothenburg. He spent his summers on Hallands Väderö and in Torekov, where he continued to paint and also took up photography as a creative pursuit.

This painting is a striking and evocative example of Gegerfelt’s Venetian period — a confident, atmospheric work by one of Sweden’s foremost plein air painters.

August Hagborg (1852-1921) Sweden

Bathing Women by the Shore

oil on canvas
signed HAGBORG
unframed: 73 x 100 cm (28 3/4 x 39 3/8 in)
framed: 88 x 115 cm (34 5/8 x 45 1/4 in)

Essay: 
This luminous and finely executed painting by August Hagborg captures three nude women preparing to bathe at the edge of a still, tree-lined body of water. One figure is seated on a rock in the foreground, calmly observing the water; another adjusts her hair or headscarf, while the third gently wades into the lake. The atmosphere is tranquil and intimate, imbued with a soft light that reflects Hagborg’s masterful handling of tone and texture.

The setting is ambiguous—it could just as well be a Nordic lake as a quiet French inlet. This uncertainty aligns with Hagborg’s career, which bridged both Swedish and French artistic circles. He spent most of his professional life in France but frequently returned to Sweden during the summers. Many of his works were inspired by the coasts of Normandy, Brittany, and southern Sweden.

This painting may correspond to a work exhibited posthumously at the 1926 memorial exhibition at the Swedish-French Art Gallery, where a canvas titled Bretagneflickor vid stranden ("Breton Girls by the Shore", cat. no. 11) was shown. The present composition matches that title in mood and motif, though no firm identification has yet been made.

August Hagborg studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and settled in Paris in the 1870s. He became a celebrated painter of coastal scenes and genre subjects, frequently exhibiting at the Paris Salon. His breakthrough came in 1879 with Low Tide at the English Channel, a painting awarded a third-class medal and later acquired by the Musée du Luxembourg (now in the Musée d'Orsay). Hagborg’s work is today held in major collections including the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Provenance:
Sold on behalf of a private collector based in Stockholm.

Condition report:
The painting has recently undergone professional restoration by a conservator. The surface has been carefully cleaned, revealing the original clarity and vibrancy of the colors. The work is in excellent condition. It is presented in a custom-made frame by Hultbergs Ramar in Stockholm, which is included.

Venny Soldan-Brofeldt (1863-1945) 

Two Pine Sap Flowers (Tallörter)

oil on canvas mounted on board
c. 1944–45
signed lower left: V.S-B.
unframed 22.5 x 16 cm
framed 37 x 31 cm
hand-made frame by Christer Björkman. 

Essay:
This late work by Venny Soldan-Brofeldt, likely painted in the final years of her life, depicts two flowering Tallört plants (Monotropa Hypopitys)—a delicate and unusual forest plant that lacks chlorophyll and survives as a parasite, giving it its characteristically pale, yellowish tones. The gently nodding flower clusters and fleshy, scale-like leaves are rendered with remarkable softness and sensitivity, surrounded by a dreamlike blend of pastel hues. In the background, the faint outlines of a lake shimmer through the misty light, suggesting the location to be Lohjanharju—a 200-kilometer-long ridge in southern Finland where Soldan-Brofeldt spent her final years in a self-built cottage near Lohja.

The work bears strong resemblance to her 1943 painting Lake Hildenvisi After Sunset, both in palette and in atmosphere. Throughout the 1940s, she painted several views of the lakes and forests in the region, often focusing on the quiet poetry of nature’s smaller details.

Born Wendla Irene Soldan in 1863, Venny Soldan-Brofeldt was one of Finland’s pioneering female artists. She studied at the Finnish Art Association’s drawing school and later in St. Petersburg, Paris, and on study trips through Italy and Spain. A central figure in Finland’s cultural life, she was married to the writer Juhani Aho, and their home became a celebrated salon for the Finnish artistic and literary elite, including Jean Sibelius and Albert Edelfelt. Despite personal upheavals, she maintained a prolific artistic career and was known for her independent spirit, unorthodox lifestyle, and wide-ranging talents, which included illustration, design, and painting.

Painted shortly before her death in 1945, this work is not only a lyrical study of nature, but also a testament to a life spent observing and honoring the natural world. The pine sap flower, whose name hypopitys means “under the pine,” thrives in shadowed forests—its subtle, hidden beauty mirroring the quiet strength and resilience of the artist herself.

Follower of Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse (1478-1532)

Christ on the Cold Stone

oil on oak panel
late 16th century
24.3 x 17.4cm (9 9/16 x 6 7/8in)

Provenance:
Private Collection, The Netherlands for at least 70 years.

Condition:
The painting has undergone an extended period of restoration by our conservator. A horizontal crack in the panel has been repaired and retouched. The work is now in very good condition overall. The frame has also been restored, with its original patina carefully preserved.

Essay:
This striking devotional image, painted by a follower of Jan Gossaert, represents one of the most influential compositions of the Northern Renaissance: Christ on the Cold Stone, or Christ as the Man of Sorrows. The present work dates from the late 16th century and is based on a now-lost original by Gossaert from 1527, which survives only through numerous workshop versions and copies. One of the finest of these is housed in the National Museum in Kraków.

Jan Gossaert, also known as Mabuse (after his birthplace Maubeuge), was one of the first Netherlandish artists to travel to Rome, and a key figure in the development of Romanism—a Northern response to the Italian Renaissance. His work combined Italianate classicism with Northern attention to detail and texture, often set within grand architectural frameworks. This composition exemplifies the pathos and psychological intensity for which he became renowned.

Here, Christ is shown seated on a stone, wearing the crown of thorns, his hands bound, and his body bruised. The raw physicality of his suffering is juxtaposed with a haunting serenity in his gaze. Around him, mocking figures lean in—each rendered with individualized, almost grotesque features—enhancing the emotional impact of the scene.

The composition proved immensely popular in Gossaert’s time and well beyond, inspiring countless versions by his workshop and followers. As noted by M.J. Friedländer (Early Netherlandish Painting, 1972, vol. VIII, pp. 31 and 92, no. 14, pl. 22), the original work from 1527 became a prototype for devotional reflection on Christ's Passion, and this version preserves the depth and drama of the master’s invention.

Ernst Lundström (1853-1931) Sweden

A Twilight Mystery

oil on canvas
signed
unframed: 43.5 x 33.5 cm (17 1/8 x 13 1/4 in)
framed: 53.5 x 43.5 cm (21 1/8 x 17 1/8 in)

Provenance: 
Gifted from the artist to Per Hasselberg (1850-1894)

Essay:
We are pleased to present this painting by Ernst Lundström, dedicated to the esteemed sculptor Per Hasselberg. The dedication on the front of the painting makes this piece particularly significant, as it stands as a testament to the friendship and artistic connection between two prominent figures of the Swedish scene. Given that Per Hasselberg passed away in 1894, it is likely that this painting was created and gifted during the late 1880s, a period marked by Lundström’s involvement in the Opponentrörelsen (The Opponents' Movement) alongside Hasselberg.

This atmospheric painting captures a nocturnal or twilight scene, with still waters in the foreground and dark, enigmatic buildings silhouetted against a brooding sky. The bare trees and the distinctly Nordic quality of the light and color palette suggest a Scandinavian cityscape, possibly Stockholm. The shimmering reflections on the water and the stark branches evoke the quiet, almost melancholic beauty of a northern evening.

On closer inspection, the central building appears to be engulfed in flames, adding an intriguing layer of mystery and drama to the work. The red-orange glow of the fire stands in sharp contrast to the cool blues and greys of the surrounding scene, drawing the viewer's eye into the heart of the painting. This unexpected detail transforms what at first glance might seem like a serene city view into a moment of tension and unease.

The high, industrial chimney visible against the sky may offer a clue to the painting’s location. It could depict an area along Stockholm’s waterfront, perhaps near Djurgården or along Stockholms ström, where industrial buildings once stood near the water. However, the exact location remains uncertain, adding to the painting’s enigmatic charm.

Both Lundström and Hasselberg were active in The Opponents' Movement, a collective of Swedish artists who challenged the traditional methods of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Their involvement in this progressive circle of artists provided fertile ground for their friendship, with Hasselberg serving as vice-chairman of the Konstnärsförbundet (Artists’ Association), where Lundström was also board member.

Ernst Lundström (1853–1931) was a versatile artist, known for his evocative landscapes from France, Italy, and his native Sweden. His works often depict twilight or moonlit scenes, capturing the tranquil yet introspective mood of the natural world. In addition to his painting, Lundström was an accomplished artisan and contributed to decorative arts projects, including collaborations with Nils Kreuger. His works are held in esteemed collections, including the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.

Emerik Stenberg (1873–1927) Sweden

The Seated Man

oil on canvas
unframed: 68 x 56 cm (26 3/4 x 22 in)
framed: 91 x 77 cm (35 7/8 x 30 1/4 in)

Authenticated on the back by his widow, Gully Stenberg

Essay:
This masterfully executed painting by Emerik Stenberg (1873–1927) captures an intimate and atmospheric moment. The composition features a seated man, engrossed in his daily chores, bathed in soft daylight filtering through a window. The subdued lighting and earthy tones create a striking contrast between light and shadow, showcasing Stenberg’s remarkable ability to depict mood and texture.

A Swedish painter, draftsman, and folklife illustrator, Emerik Stenberg was known for his evocative portraits and genre scenes. Trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, he later became a professor of figure painting. Deeply inspired by the cultural traditions of Dalarna, he settled in Leksand, where he found endless artistic inspiration. His works are represented in major Swedish institutions, including the Nationalmuseum, Göteborgs konstmuseum, and Nordiska museet.

This painting exemplifies Stenberg’s gift for capturing the essence of rural life, with a keen eye for atmosphere and human expression. It is a testament to his mastery of light, form, and storytelling.