Bruno Liljefors

Earlier in the collections of Estate owner Theodor and Mrs. Marianne Dieden, Örebro, Sweden; private collection.

Liljevalchs konsthall (Liljevalchs public art gallery), Stockholm, Sweden, "Bruno Liljefors. Minnesutställning", September 30 - October 30 1960;
Åmells konsthandel, Stockholm, Sweden, "Bruno Liljefors", April 24 - May 17 1987, no. 1; Åmells konsthandel, Stockholm, Sweden, "Bruno Liljefors", 1990, no. 2; Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, Sweden, "Bruno Liljefors", September 20 1996 - January 6 1997, no. 4; Göteborgs Konstmuseum (Gothenburg Museum of Art), Sweden, "Bruno Liljefors", January 25 - May 25 1997, no. 4.

"Konst i svenska hem", vol. II, no. 4, catalogued and illustrated p. 192 under Collection 269: "Godsägare och Fru Theodor och Marianne Dieden, Carlslund, Örebro"; Martha Hill, "Bruno Liljefors. The Peerless Eye", 1987, illustrated full page in colour, p. 70 (under the title "Fox Chased by Hounds").

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.