Carl Larsson

Sold by Carl Larsson to Pressens lotteri (The Art Lottery of the Swedish Press Association) according to notes in the artist's ledger: ”1901 I Grönan lund. Karin o. Bullerholmen / Pressens lotteri 1000”); Mrs. Gertrud Wikstrand, Stockholm; Hans Erik Börjeson Collection.

Liljevalchs konsthall (Liljevalchs public art gallery), Stockholm, "Carl Larsson. Minnesutställning ", September - October 1953, no. 735 (under the title "De badande barnen"); Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland, "Carl Larsson. Dreams of Harmony", September 16 2011 - January 8 2012 (under the title "Bathing Children"); Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, "Carl Larsson. In Search of the Good Life", February 10 - April 29 2012 (under the title "Bathing Children").

The composition was one of the illustrations in the publication "Larssons", originally published in 1902; Ulwa Neergaard, "Carl Larsson. Signerat med pensel och penna", 1999, catalogued under year 1901, p. 84, no. 975; "Carl Larsson. Dreams of Harmony" / "Carl Larsson. In search of the Good Life", exhibition catalogue Turku Art Museum, Finland / Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, 2011/2012, illustrated full page in colour, p. 100.

Carl Larsson is considered one of the greatest Swedish artists of all time. He was born in Gamla Stan in Stockholm and studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in the years 1866-76. After his studies in Stockholm, he traveled to France and settled in Grèz-sur-Loing. There he mainly painted garden motifs. In France, he met his future wife Karin Bergöö, who was also an artist and came to mean a lot for his artistry. Already during his student years, he made a living as a photo retoucher and cartoonist in the press. It was also during his studies that Larsson got to know Anders Zorn and Bruno Liljefors, together the three are usually called the ABC artists. At the end of the 1880s, Carl and Karin were given "Lilla Hyttnäs" in Sundborn outside Falun by Karin's father, and this is where Larsson's most famous watercolors depicting his family were created. The motifs often depict sunny landscapes with children, crayfish fishing, meals in the green and interior scenes. Larsson is represented, among other, in the National Museum, where "Gustav Vasas intåg i Stockholm" and "Midvinterblot" fills the stairwell. Represented mainly at the National Museum in Stockholm and at the Gothenburg Art Museum.