Bruno Liljefors

Bukowski Auktioner AB, Stockholm, Sale 526, "Internationella Höstauktionen", December 3 2002, lot 207; private collection.

Åmells, Stockholm, "Bruno Liljefors. En privatsamling", 1990, no. 16; Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, "Bruno Liljefors. Naturen som livsrum", September 20 1996 - January 6 1997, no. 28.

Allan Ellenius, "Bruno Liljefors. Naturen som livsrum", 1996, listed in the catalogue, p. 229 under no. 28 (under the title "Tjäderspel" and stated as executed in 1890) and illustrated full page in colour, p. 94 (under the title "Tjäderlek i gryningsljus", here stated as executed in 1885).

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.