Gösta Adrian-Nilsson
"Akrobater i Paris" (Acrobats in Paris)
Signed GAN. Executed in Paris, 1924. Canvas laid down on panel 92 x 65 cm.
Provenance
Originally in the collection of editor Nils Lindgren, Norrköping (a gift directly from the artist).
Thereafter in the Nils Lindgren estate.
Stockholms auktionsverk, "Moderna kvalitén", spring 1996, lot 1489.
Private collection (acquired at the sale above).
Exhibitions
Galerie Moderne, Stockholm, "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson", 1932, cat nr 14 (under the title "Akrobater").
Svensk-franska Konstgalleriet, Stockholm, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Retrospektiv utställning 1913-1953", September 1953, cat no 17 (under the title "Akrobater", then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping).
Malmö museum, "GAN" -exhibition in collaboration with Svensk-Franska konstgalleriet, Stockholm, 1 - 23 October 1955, cat no 23 (under the title "Akrobater", then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping).
Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, "GAN -Retrospektivt", 29 March - 27 April 1958, cat no 124 (then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping).
Norrköpings museum, "GAN i Norrköping", 16 April - 15 May 1967, cat no 31.
Lunds konsthall, "GAN och Wiwen Nilsson", 3 July - 28 August 1977, cat no 114 (then in the collections of redaktör Nils Lindgren, Norrköping).
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. 1884-1965", 6 April - 20 May 1984, cat no 187.
Malmö konsthall, "GAN. Gösta-Adrian Nilsson. 1884-1965", 29 June - 26 August 1984, cat no 187.
Mjellby konstgård/Halmstadgruppens museum, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. GAN 1914 - 1932", 5 May - 4 August 2002, cat no 41.
Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, "GAN -modernistpionjär och outsider", 19 February - 29 May 2011, cat no 63.
Literature
Nils Lindgren, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson", 1949, mentioned page 120 and reproduced half page, page 119.
"GAN och Wiwen Nilsson", exhibition catalogue Lunds konsthall, 1977, reproduced full page in colour on the back of the cover.
"GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson 1884-1965", exhibition catalogue Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm/Malmö konsthall, 1984, reproduced full page in colour, page 78.
Jan Torsten Ahlstrand, 'GAN -den store outsidern i svensk modernism', essay in "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Perioden 1914-1932", exhibition catalogue Mjellby konstgård/Halmstadgruppens museum, 2002, mentioned and reproduced in colour page 59.
Viveka Bosson, 'GAN 1920-30. Några glimtar genom den Gyllene Bokens prisma', essay in "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Perioden 1914-1932", exhibition catalogue Mjellby konstgård/Halmstadgruppens museum, 2002, mentioned page 118 and reproduced full page in colour, page 117.
More information
With dedication by the artist on verso: "For Nisse 21/11 1949".
Designer
Gösta Adrian-Nilsson is most notable as a visual artist, and he is a pioneer of Swedish modernism. He studied at the Tekniske Selskabs Skole in Copenhagen and later for Johan Rohde at Zahrtmann’s school in Copenhagen. As an avant-gardist, Nilsson was constantly searching for new influences. In Berlin, he was influenced by the circle around the radical magazine Der Sturm, through Kandinsky and och Franz Marc. In Paris through Fernand Legér and the artists in his circle. GAN was an eclectic in the positive sense of the word. He took the the artist styles of the 1900s and created new impressions. Symbolism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, constructivim and Theosophy were the colours occupying his internal pallet. He had a sharp eye for the masculine and his painting was often energized by the vitality of modern technology, vibrant eroticism, and echoes of tyrants. No other Swedish modern artist exhibits such a unique style.
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