Gösta Adrian-Nilsson
"Vertikal figur" (Vertical figure)
Signed GAN and, on verso, Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Executed in 1928. Canvas on paper-panel 48 x 34 cm.
Provenance
Originally in the collection of mechanical engineer Egon Östlund, Halmstad/Borås (gift from the artist).
Then in the collection of Mrs Britt Östlund, Malmö.
Galerie Bel'Art, Stockholm.
Nordén auctions (in cooperation with Sotheby's), Stockholm, May 11 1992, lot 68b.
Private collection (acquired at the sale above).
Exhibitions
Riksförbundet för bildande konst, exhibition "Svensk konst kring 1930".
Hallands museum, Halmstad, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson", 1936, cat no 77.
Riksförbundet för bildande konst, vandringsutställning 71, "Abstrakt och surrealistiskt ur Egon Östlunds samling", 1949, cat no 20.
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "GAN -Retrospektivt", 29 March - 27 April 1958, cat no 75 (then in the collections of Mrs Britt Östlund, Malmö).
Galerie Bel'Art, Stockholm, "Pionjären GAN (Gösta Adrian-Nilsson 1884-1965)", 5 February - 8 March 1981, cat no 23.
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson 1884-1965", 6 April - 20 May 1984, cat no 248.
Malmö konsthall, "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson 1884-1965", 29 June - 26 August 1984, cat no 248.
Mjellby konstgård/Halmstadgruppens museum, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. GAN 1914 - 1932", 5 May - 4 August 2002, cat no 45.
Literature
"Konst i svenska hem", vol. 3, catalogued page 140 under collection 165: "Förste Maskiningeniör Egon Östlund, Norra vägen 4, Halmstad".
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 pages 68-70 and reproduced full page in colour, page 69.
More information
With dedication by the artist on verso: "For Egon from his grateful friend 18/XI 1929".
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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