Bruno Liljefors
Landscape with Geese
Signed Bruno Liljefors and dated 1920. Oil on canvas 66 x 91 cm.
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Provenance
Fritzes Kungl. Hovbokhandel, Stockholm; the collection of Mr. George N. Jeppson, Massachusetts, USA (acquired from the above mentioned); by descent.
More information
The lot was originally part of the George N. Jeppson collection in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
When George N. Jeppson passed away in 1962, he was regarded as one of America's most prominent Swedish Americans. His father, originally from Höganäs, Skåne, in the south of Sweden emigrated to Massachusetts, and founded the successful abrasives manufacturing company Norton Co., in which George, after studies at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, pursued a career. Jeppson advanced within the company and after several years as managing director, he became president in 1941 and later CEO.
George N. Jeppson placed great importance on his Swedish origins and heritage, and for his contributions to the economic and cultural relations between the United States and Sweden, he received a number of official awards and recognitions. In conjunction with the 1938 celebration marking the 300-year anniversary of the founding of the New Sweden colony on the eastern coast of North America, he was appointed to commander of the Royal Order of Vasa.
The Jeppson family home in Worcester, Massachusetts, which, among other prominent guests, was visited by Prince Bertil of Sweden, displayed Swedish art and crafts of the highest quality. The art collection contained important works by Gustaf Fjæstad and Bruno Liljefors, acquired by Fritzes Kungl. Hovbokhandel in Stockholm and then shipped to USA with S.S. Kungsholm. Some of the most impressive elements of the interior of the house, however, were the carpets by Märta Måås-Fjetterström in Båstad. The carpets are early and, in some cases, unique specimens manufactured under the supervision of Måås-Fjetterström herself in 1936. In addition, a number of these were also custom made and had been designed based on Jeppson's specific wishes, as evidenced by preserved correspondence with MMF.
Important Winter Sale includes further ten lots (two paintings and eight carpets/textiles) from the George N. Jeppson collection; lots: 265, 334, 187, 195, 196, 199, 200, 201, 202 and 203.
Artist
Bruno Liljefors is the Swedish artist best known for his nature and animal motifs, especially in dramatic situations. Liljefors started with studies at the Academy of Arts in 1879, and continued 1882 in Düsseldorf where the studies revolved around animal painting. The journey then continued to Venice, Rome, Naples, Paris and Grez. Once back in Sweden, he began to draw and paint animals, especially cats and small birds, from the beginning in intimate interaction with nature. He then moved on to broader depictions of wild animals and nature, of seascapes with seabirds and of dramatic scenes of battles between birds. Liljefors is known as our country's foremost animal painter with a large production. Liljefors depicted, in contrast to the "idyllic" animal painting, the animals everyday life with a focus on movement, anatomy and their adaptation to the landscape. This is where the greatness of his painting lies, in the ability to show the animals in their proper environment. He has achieved this by hunting and observing. Well-known works of art are the paintings "Rävfamilj" (1886) and "Havsörnar" (1897), as well as the sculpture "Lek" (1930) at Stockholm Stadium. Liljefors is mainly represented at the National Museum, Waldemarsudde and the Thielska gallery in Stockholm.
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