David Cronholm (1877–1968) Sweden

Forest Landscape, 1910

signed and dated lower right D Strid 1910
charcoal on paper
paper 65.5 × 46.5 cm (25.8 × 18.3 in)
framed 76 × 57 cm (29.9 × 22.4 in)

Provenance:
A Swedish private collection. 

Essay:
This charcoal drawing from 1910 is an unusually powerful example of David Cronholm’s ability to transform a forest motif into something at once precise, immersive and deeply atmospheric. A great spruce dominates the composition, its trunk rising from a dark and broken forest floor while long, drooping branches spread across the sheet in an almost enclosing web. The image is built without anecdote or scenic distraction. Instead, Cronholm concentrates the entire drama of the work into the physical presence of the tree itself and the shadowed interior of the woodland around it.

What makes the drawing so compelling is the extraordinary control of tone. The trunk is modelled with such patience that the bark seems almost tactile, while the roots, stones and furrowed ground beneath it are rendered with a density that gives the lower half of the sheet genuine weight. At the same time, the branches dissolve into a softer and more elusive network of shadow, moss and hanging growth, producing a sense of silence that feels nearly otherworldly. This tension between exact observation and mysterious atmosphere is the key to the work. The drawing is rooted in nature, yet it evokes something more inward and imaginative, almost as if the forest were being seen not only with the eye, but through memory and mood.

Cronholm was born in Dalsland in 1877 and belonged to that distinct generation of Swedish artists who remained close to landscape as both subject and emotional terrain. He studied at Valand under Carl Wilhelmson, and the present drawing belongs convincingly to the mature early phase that followed this training. Published biographical accounts describe him not only as a painter and draughtsman, but also as an engineer. That dual identity feels especially relevant here. The work has the structural clarity of someone accustomed to exactitude, yet it never becomes dry or merely descriptive. On the contrary, it is precisely the balance between discipline and feeling that gives the drawing its authority.

The drawing is signed D. Strid rather than Cronholm, he often used this form, in reference to his father Per Strid-Cronholm. An official church survey from Dalsland records an earlier altarpiece in Brålanda church painted by “D Strid,” which shows that the name was used by Cronholm in a public and serious artistic context.

Olle Hjortzberg (1872–1959) Sweden

Bouquet of Meadow Flowers, c. 1950

signed lower left Olle Hjortzberg
watercolour on paper
unframed 41.5 × 29.5 cm (16.3 × 11.6 in)
framed 58 × 46 cm (22.8 × 18.1 in)

Provenance:
A Swedish private collection. 

Essay:
This bouquet, likely executed during the later part of Olle Hjortzberg’s career around 1950, presents a freely arranged bouquet of meadow flowers. The bouquet appears to be dominated by poppy like blooms in shades of yellow, orange, coral and pale white, accompanied by a smaller number of daisy or composite filler flowers. 

The watercolor technique is handled with exceptional freedom. Transparent washes are combined with more opaque accents, while portions of untouched paper allow the composition to retain both brightness and air. Hjortzberg avoids excessive detail, instead relying on rhythm, color and gesture to unify the bouquet. The stems and foliage form a dense green structure below, from which the blossoms rise with varying height and direction, creating an elegant asymmetry throughout the sheet.

Olle Hjortzberg occupies a singular position within Swedish art of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Educated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, and later active both as painter and decorative artist, he developed a remarkably broad artistic practice. He worked with mural painting, stained glass, illustration, church decoration, posters and stamp design, while also maintaining an independent production of landscapes, portraits and floral compositions. Among his most celebrated commissions are decorative works for churches and public buildings, as well as the official poster for the Stockholm Olympic Games of 1912.

Hjortzberg repeatedly returned to intimate and personal motifs such as flowers. In his later years especially, floral subjects became increasingly important within his work. These compositions allowed him to explore color and movement with a freedom not always possible in his public commissions. Several late paintings and watercolors featuring bouquets, midsummer flowers and loosely gathered arrangements reveal an artist deeply engaged with the expressive possibilities of floral painting.

What makes the composition especially compelling is its combination of decorative brilliance and emotional immediacy. The flowers do not appear arranged according to academic convention, but rather gathered instinctively, as if freshly brought in from a summer meadow. This gives the work an unaffected warmth that contrasts beautifully with Hjortzberg’s more formal public productions.

Condition report:
The work is in very fine condition. Presented in a newly made gilded frame with museum glass UV92.

Carlo Hornung Jensen (1882–1960) Denmark

På Atelieret (In the Studio), 1930

signed and dated lower left C. Hornung Jensen 1930
oil on panel
unframed 24 × 33 cm (9.4 × 13 in)
framed 32 × 40 cm (12.6 × 15.7 in)

On the reverse, a dedication from the artist dated 1934, when the painting was given as a gift to editor Holger Jerrild (1890–1962).

Provenance:
Editor Holger Jerrild (1890–1962), according to the dedication on the reverse dated 1934.

Essay:
This intimate studio interior from 1930 belongs to the more psychologically engaging side of Carlo Hornung Jensen’s oeuvre. A seated woman has paused beside her easel and turned toward the viewer with a slightly questioning expression. Her gaze is neither fully direct nor withdrawn, creating an immediate sense of presence that gives the small composition an unusual emotional charge. The painting appears quiet at first glance, yet it holds the viewer’s attention with remarkable persistence.

The studio itself is rendered as a genuine working environment rather than an idealized interior. Brushes and palette rest nearby, a partially completed canvas stands on the easel, and the surrounding furniture is treated with understated realism. These details establish the authenticity of the setting and reinforce the impression that the woman has been observed in the midst of her work, interrupted only momentarily. The result is a scene that feels lived rather than staged.

Particularly striking is the handling of color. The warm orange jacket dominates the composition and becomes the emotional center of the painting, contrasting against the darker interior and the subdued brown and green tones of the room. The broad brimmed hat and pale skirt catch the available light, guiding the eye toward the sitter’s face and hands. Hornung Jensen demonstrates here a refined understanding of how restrained color relationships can animate a relatively modest motif.

The woman’s identity remains uncertain, though it is possible that she is the artist’s wife, Ellen Hermansen, whom Hornung Jensen married in 1918. During the late 1920s and early 1930s he painted several works in which Ellen appears explicitly as the subject. Whether or not she is depicted here, the painting carries a notable sense of familiarity and closeness. The sitter is approached with attentiveness rather than formality, and this psychological intimacy is central to the work’s appeal.

Carlo Hornung Jensen was born in Copenhagen in 1882 and received a solid academic training. After working as a painting apprentice, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts before continuing his education in Paris. There he attended Académie Colarossi and the École des Beaux Arts, studying under artists including Christian Krohg, Frits Thaulow, Gabriel Ferrier and Léon Bonnat. These experiences exposed him to both Scandinavian naturalism and French painting traditions, influences that remained visible throughout his career.

Although primarily celebrated as a landscape painter, particularly for his scenes from Hornbæk, Dyrehaven and the Danish coastline, Hornung Jensen also produced portraits, interiors and genre scenes of considerable sensitivity. His interiors often possess a quiet atmospheric intensity, where the arrangement of light, furniture and figure becomes inseparable from the emotional tone of the painting. På Atelieret is an especially compelling example of this aspect of his work.

In 1934 Hornung Jensen presented the work as a gift to the Danish editor and author Holger Jerrild. 

Despite its modest dimensions, På Atelieret possesses remarkable presence. Hornung Jensen succeeds in combining technical control, subtle psychology and atmospheric warmth within a highly concentrated format. The painting reveals an artist capable of transforming an everyday studio moment into something reflective, personal and quietly memorable.

Condition report:
The painting is in very fine condition. The colors are clear and well preserved. Presented in a newly made frame with root veneer.

Carl Axel Elvegård (1883–1962) Sweden

Early Winter in Dalarna, 1923

signed and dated lower right Ax. Elvegård 1923
pastel and pencil on paper
paper 48.5 × 61.5 cm (19.1 × 24.2 in)
framed 59 × 72 cm (23.2 × 28.3 in)

Provenance:
Private collection, Dalarna, Sweden

Essay:
This work from 1923 presents a winter landscape from Dalarna, rendered with a restrained palette and a strong emphasis on tonal contrast. Snow covered forms dominate the foreground, their rounded contours shaped through soft transitions between light and shadow. Tall pine trunks rise vertically through the composition, creating a rhythmic structure against the dark forest beyond. In the distance, the landscape opens toward a narrow valley and a faint stream of light at the horizon, suggesting the final illumination of day.

Executed in pastel and pencil, the work differs in medium from Elvegård’s oil paintings yet the same sensitivity to atmosphere and seasonal transition. The combination of black pastel and exposed paper creates a striking visual economy, where the image emerges through the tension between dark masses and luminous untouched surfaces. The handling is controlled yet expressive, allowing the texture of the paper to participate actively in the composition.

Carl Axel Elvegård belongs to a generation of Swedish painters deeply engaged with the northern landscape and its changing conditions of light. His work is closely connected to the tradition of national romantic landscape painting, though his approach is generally quieter and more introspective than the grander visions associated with the late nineteenth century. Rather than emphasizing monumentality, Elvegård focused on mood, structure and the intimate observation of nature.

Like many Scandinavian artists of the early twentieth century, he was particularly drawn to the threshold moments between seasons. In the present work, winter has not yet fully settled into immobility. The snow appears soft and newly formed, while the dark forest and subdued sky retain traces of autumnal atmosphere. This transitional quality gives the composition its distinctive emotional character.

Pastel allowed Elvegård to work with immediacy and delicacy, qualities particularly suited to the depiction of winter light. Here, the medium conveys both softness and precision, capturing subtle tonal variations that would be difficult to achieve in oil. The result is a composition that feels both intimate and monumental, despite its modest scale.

Within Elvegård’s oeuvre, works such as this demonstrate his ability to transform familiar Nordic motifs into meditative studies of light, silence and form. The landscape is not treated as spectacle, but as an environment of stillness and reflection, deeply rooted in the visual culture of central Sweden during the early twentieth century.

Condition report:
The work is in good condition with age related wear. The surface appears stable and well preserved.

Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946) Sweden

Söder sedt från Ränmästaretrappan, 1915
( View of Södermalm from the Räntmästar Stairs)

signed lower left BOBERG
inscribed on the reverse “Söder sedt från Ränmästaretrappan 1915 Ferdinand Boberg”
mixed media on paper, probably graphite and pastel crayon
sheet size 62 × 47 cm (24.41 × 18.50 inches)
framed 73.5 × 58 cm (28.94 × 22.83 inches)

Provenance:
Private collection, Sweden.

Essay:
This Stockholm view reveals Ferdinand Boberg in one of the most compelling aspects of his artistic practice. Though celebrated primarily as one of Sweden’s foremost architects, Boberg was also an exceptionally sensitive draughtsman whose images of Stockholm possess both documentary precision and poetic atmosphere. Seen from Ränmästaretrappan, the composition looks southward across the harbour toward Södermalm, where smoke, water, architecture  merge into an urban vision.

The viewpoint itself is historically charged. Ränmästaretrappan formed part of the old waterfront environment near Skeppsbron and Slussen, an area deeply associated with Stockholm’s maritime life and daily movement across the city. Ferries, steamships, labourers, and travellers passed constantly through this threshold between the old town and the southern districts. Boberg captures precisely this sense of transition. The steamer in the foreground emits smoke that rises through the composition and dissolves into the silhouette of Södermalm beyond. The city emerges gradually through haze and atmosphere rather than through rigid architectural description.

What makes the work particularly engaging is the balance between structure and mood. Boberg’s training as an architect is immediately visible in the controlled organization of masses and perspective. Even in this loose and atmospheric handling, the city retains a strong underlying construction. Yet the drawing never becomes static. The repeated strokes of graphite and crayon create movement across the surface, giving the impression of damp winter air, smoke drifting above the harbour, and fading daylight settling over the water. The result is a cityscape that feels alive rather than monumental.

Around this period Boberg increasingly devoted himself to drawing, printmaking, and documentary studies of Swedish towns and landscapes. After decades spent shaping the public face of modern Stockholm through architecture, he turned toward recording the older environments that were rapidly disappearing in the early twentieth century. In this sense the drawing belongs to an important phase of his career. It is not only a topographical study, but also a meditation on memory, urban change, and the fragile atmosphere of the historical city.

Ferdinand Boberg occupies a singular position within Swedish cultural history. As an architect he was responsible for some of the most recognizable buildings of his generation, including Rosenbad, the Central Post Office, and Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm. His architecture combined monumental ambition with a highly personal interpretation of Art Nouveau and national romantic ideals. Yet his parallel activity as an artist remained equally significant. Thousands of sketches, drawings, and graphic works testify to a restless observational talent and to a profound attachment to the Swedish urban landscape.

In the present sheet this dual identity becomes especially clear. The architect’s understanding of structure and space is united with the artist’s sensitivity to weather, light, and fleeting impressions. The scene is unmistakably Stockholm, yet it also transcends pure description. Through smoke, shadow, and soft tonal transitions, Boberg transforms the harbour view into an image filled with atmosphere and historical resonance.

Condition report:
The sheet was conserved by Lotta Möller in Stockholm during 2025–2026. Earlier tears to three corners were professionally repaired. The paper shows mild overall yellowing consistent with age and acidity. Otherwise the work is in good restored condition and presents well.

Attributed to Carl Mattson (1886–1941) Sweden

Stormy Sea with Lighthouse, 1925

signed and dated lower left
watercolor on canvas
unframed 73 × 81 cm (28.74 × 31.89 inches)
framed 83 × 90 cm (32.68 × 35.43 inches)

Provenance:
Private collection, Sweden.

Essay:
This dramatic coastal scene, executed in 1925, is by an artist almost completely forgotten, until today. The composition presents a turbulent sea beneath an immense cloud formation rising over the horizon, while a solitary lighthouse appears in silhouette against the glowing evening sky. The work is remarkable for its powerful atmospheric construction and for the unusual technical character of the surface, where thin washes of color allow the structure of the canvas to remain visible throughout the image.

The painting is dominated by the extraordinary cloud mass that occupies the upper half of the composition. Formed almost like a monumental apparition above the sea, the cloud becomes both meteorological phenomenon and symbolic presence. Mattson organizes the scene around the dramatic encounter between light and darkness. Deep blue passages of sky dissolve into reddish tones near the horizon, while the storm clouds gather in heavy horizontal layers across the water. The lighthouse, reduced to a narrow vertical accent, provides a quiet counterweight to the immense natural forces surrounding it.

Carl Mattson remains a relatively obscure figure today, but surviving archival references and museum records reveal an artist deeply engaged with maritime and urban subjects. Works associated with him depict harbors, quays, lighthouses, and atmospheric city scenes, often characterized by subdued illumination and expressive tonal contrasts. This painting demonstrates a highly individual approach to watercolor on canvas, a technique that remained uncommon in Sweden at the time. The method creates a delicate balance between drawing and painting, allowing transparency and absorbency to shape the visual effect of the work.

Condition report:
The canvas weave is visible throughout the composition, consistent with the artist’s thin and absorbent handling of the watercolor medium. The painting is in a good condition with fine old patina. Framed with the original frame. 

Nils Tirén (1885–1935) Sweden

Goldeneyes in Thawing Water, 1919

signed and dated lower right Nils Tirén 1919
oil on canvas
unframed 60 × 92 cm (23.6 × 36.2 in)
framed 75 × 107 cm (29.5 × 42.1 in)

Provenance:
Private collection, Jämtland, Sweden

Condition report:
The painting appears to be in good condition. The colors are clear and well preserved, and the surface presents a stable paint layer. The frame shows a fine aged patina with minor flaws consistent with age.

Essay:
Nils Tirén was born in Oviken in Jämtland into a distinguished artistic family. He was the son of the painter Johan Tirén and the artist Gerda Tirén, and he grew up in an environment where both art and close observation of nature were central. His sister, Stina Tirén, was also active as an artist. This familial context played a decisive role in shaping his early development, particularly in fostering a deep engagement with landscape and animal life.

He pursued formal studies in Stockholm, where he received training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. His artistic formation was further enriched through travel, and he maintained a strong connection to both the northern landscapes of Jämtland and the varied environments of central Sweden. Throughout his career, Tirén remained committed to working directly from nature, often studying animals in their natural habitats. This method allowed him to achieve a high degree of accuracy in posture and movement, combined with a sensitivity to the surrounding environment.

In this painting from 1919 presents a group of goldeneye ducks resting and moving across dark, open water at the threshold between winter and spring. The shoreline is still edged with snow, yet the ice has begun to recede, allowing the surface of the water to emerge in deep, reflective tones. The composition is built around the contrast between the cold, muted landscape and the crisp, black and white forms of the birds. The motif is understated, yet precisely observed, capturing a fleeting seasonal transition that is characteristic of the northern environment.

Tirén exhibited in several important contexts during his lifetime. He participated in exhibitions organized by Sweden’s General Art Association and was represented at the Baltic Exhibition in Malmö in 1914. In 1918 he exhibited together with his mother and sister at Konstnärshuset in Stockholm, presenting works that focused on animal subjects. After his death, his work was included in a memorial exhibition at Liljevalchs in 1935.

Alongside his work as a painter, Tirén played a significant role in the development of Swedish educational imagery. He produced a large number of school charts depicting animals for the publisher Norstedts, combining scientific accuracy with a strong sense of atmosphere. Among these is a school chart depicting goldeneyes, executed in 1929, which demonstrates the continuity of his interest in waterfowl and seasonal landscapes. 

Nils Tirén, Goldeneyes, school chart, 1929.

The present painting can be understood within this broader context. It exemplifies Tirén’s ability to unite zoological precision with a nuanced rendering of light and season. The birds are not isolated studies, but integral elements within a carefully observed environment. The work does not rely on dramatic effect, but instead conveys its impact through restraint, balance and an intimate understanding of nature. As such, it stands as a representative and accomplished example of Tirén’s contribution to Swedish painting.

Alfred Thörne (1850–1916) Sweden

Lakeside Landscape, 1883

signed and dated lower left 1883
oil on panel
unframed 21.5 × 30 cm (8.5 × 11.8 in)
framed 37 × 46.5 cm (14.6 × 18.3 in)

Provenance:
Private collection, Sweden

Essay:
Alfred Thörne was born in 1850 in Horn, Östergötland, and belongs to a generation of Swedish painters whose formation was grounded in the academic tradition but increasingly shaped by international experience. He studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm between 1874 and 1880 under Per Daniel Holm, one of the leading landscape painters and teachers of the period. His talent was recognized early, and in 1880 he was awarded the Royal Medal for the painting Sommarmorgon. The following year he was appointed agré at the Academy.

In 1884 Thörne received a travel scholarship that enabled him to undertake extended study journeys across Europe. Between 1884 and 1886 he traveled to Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, encountering a wide range of artistic traditions and contemporary developments. These experiences contributed to a broadening of his artistic vocabulary, particularly in relation to landscape painting. The influence of continental naturalism and plein air practice can be discerned in works such as the present example, where direct observation and tonal unity take precedence over academic construction.

Thörne exhibited regularly during his lifetime and participated in several important exhibitions, including the Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1888, the Gothenburg Exhibition of 1891 and the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He was also active within the Swedish exhibition circuit and later showed his work together with Olof Hermelin in Stockholm in 1910. His career was recognized posthumously with a memorial exhibition at Konstnärshuset in Stockholm in 1916.

The present painting can be understood within this broader context. Its modest scale and direct execution suggest that it may have been painted outdoors, capturing a specific moment with immediacy. The brushwork remains visible, particularly in the foliage and along the shoreline, where subtle tonal variations create a sense of depth and movement. The water is rendered with a restrained palette, reflecting the sky without strong contrasts, contributing to the overall harmony of the composition.

Thörne is represented in several important Swedish collections, including Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Nordiska Museet, Östergötlands Museum, Norrköpings Konstmuseum, Gävle Museum and Sundsvalls Museum. 

Condition report:
The painting has been recently cleaned by a professional conservator in 2026. The colors are clear and well balanced, and the surface retains a fresh and vivid appearance. The paint layer appears stable and the work is in very good condition. The frame, likely original, shows a fine patina with minor flaws consistent with age.

Frants Henningsen (1850–1908) Denmark

Study of Cattle, c. 1880

monogrammed lower left FH
oil on panel
unframed 13.5 × 22 cm (5.3 × 8.7 in)
framed 22 × 30 cm (8.7 × 11.8 in)

Provenance:
Swedish private collection

Essay:
This small oil study by Frants Henningsen is striking in its simplicity and immediacy. A single cattle dominates the foreground, resting in the grass with a sense of physical weight and calm presence, while additional cattle are indicated in the background with only a few brushstrokes. The composition is not concerned with narrative complexity, but rather with the direct observation of form, posture and atmosphere. It is precisely this restraint that gives the work its strength.

Henningsen was trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and later continued his studies in Paris under Léon Bonnat. He established himself as one of the leading figures of Danish realism in the late nineteenth century and was eventually appointed professor at the Academy. He is best known for his carefully composed genre scenes, often depicting moments of emotional or social tension within everyday life. These works are characterized by a high degree of finish and a strong narrative content.

In contrast, the present panel reveals a more immediate and observational aspect of his practice. The handling of paint is free and direct,  the work was executed plein air. The artist does not attempt to refine or idealize the forms, but instead records them with a confident economy of means.

The foreground animal is constructed through broad areas of warm brown and red tones, with subtle variations that define volume and musculature. The head is given slightly greater emphasis, with careful attention to the eye, muzzle and horns, allowing the animal to emerge with a quiet individuality. In contrast, the background cattle are rendered with remarkable brevity, demonstrating Henningsen’s ability to suggest form with minimal intervention. 

Although Henningsen is not primarily associated with animal painting, there is evidence that he engaged with rural subjects during the 1880s, particularly in works connected to the Gisselfeld estate, where cattle and agricultural settings appear as central motifs. Paintings from this period show that he was capable of integrating animals into larger compositions, often within carefully structured landscapes. The present work can be understood as closely related to this aspect of his production, though executed in a more spontaneous and intimate format.

Small scale oil studies such as this were an important part of many nineteenth century artists’ working methods. They allowed for direct engagement with light, color and form outside the studio, and often served as a foundation for larger compositions. At the same time, they possess an autonomy that distinguishes them from preparatory sketches. In this case, the painting stands as a complete and self sufficient work, in which the immediacy of execution is central to its aesthetic impact.

Condition report:
The painting has recently undergone professional conservation. The colors have regained clarity and depth, and the brushwork is now more distinctly legible. The paint layer appears stable and well preserved.

Sources:
Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Den Hirschsprungske Samling, Copenhagen
Exhibition catalogues from Charlottenborg
Auction records and archival material on Frants Henningsen