Gösta Adrian-Nilsson
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"Akrobater i Paris" (Acrobats in Paris)
Signed GAN. Executed in Paris 1924. Oil on canvas laid down on panel 92 x 65 cm.
Provenance
Originally in the collections of editor Nils Lindgren, Norrköping.
Sweden (a gift directly from the artist).
The estate of Nils Lindgren; Stockholms auktionsverk, "Moderna kvalitén", spring 1996, lot 1489.
Private collection (acquired at the sale above).
Bukowski Auktioner, Höstens Moderna Auktion, Stockholm 563, 25 October, 2011, cat no 103.
Private collection.
Exhibitions
Galerie Moderne, Stockholm, "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson", 1932, no. 14 (under the title "Akrobater").
Svensk-franska Konstgalleriet, Stockholm, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Retrospektiv utställning 1913-1953", September 1953, no. 17 (under the title "Akrobater", then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping, Sweden).
Malmö museum, Sweden, "GAN" -exhibition in collaboration with Svensk-Franska konstgalleriet, Stockholm, October 1-23, 1955, no. 23 (under the title "Akrobater", then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping; Sweden).
Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, "GAN -Retrospektivt", March 29 - April 27, 1958, no. 124 (then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping, Sweden).
Norrköpings museum, Sweden, "GAN i Norrköping", April 16 - May 15, 1967, no. 31.
Lunds konsthall, Sweden, "GAN och Wiwen Nilsson", July 3 - August 28, 1977, no. 114 (then in the collection of Nils Lindgren, Norrköping, Sweden).
Liljevalchs konsthall (Liljevalchs Public Art Gallery), Stockholm, "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. 1884-1965", April 6 - May 20, 1984, no. 187.
Malmö konsthall, Sweden, "GAN. Gösta-Adrian Nilsson. 1884-1965", June 29 - August 26, 1984, no. 187.
Mjellby konstgård/Halmstadgruppens museum, Sweden, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. GAN 1914 - 1932", May 5 - August 4, 2002, no. 41.
Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, "GAN -modernistpionjär och outsider", February 19 - May 29, 2011, no. 64.
Literature
Nils Lindgren, "Gösta Adrian-Nilsson", 1949, mentioned p. 120 and reproduced half page, p. 119.
"GAN och Wiwen Nilsson", exhibition catalogue Lunds konsthall, 1977, reproduced full page in colour on the back of the cover.
"GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson 1884-1965", exhibition catalogue Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm/Malmö konsthall, 1984, reproduced full page in colour, page 78.
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 and reproduced in colour p. 59.
Viveka Bosson, 'GAN 1920-30. Några glimtar genom den Gyllene Bokens prisma', essay in "GAN. Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. Perioden 1914-1932", exhibition catalogue Mjellby konstgård/Halmstadgruppens museum, 2002, mentioned p. 118 and reproduced full page in colour, p. 117.
More information
With dedication by the artist on verso: "For Nisse 21/11 1949".
Artist
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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