Olle Emanuelsson Collection H063

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Bukowskis presents Olle Emanuelsson Collection consisting of art and design from early 1900s until today. The substantial collection has taken form with great knowledge and passion for art during a long period of time and includes Swedish and international art by artists such as Olle Bærtling, Jean Tinguely, Henri Laurens, Lynn Chadwick, Bjarne Melgaard and many more.

When is the viewing and auction?

Viewing 1 October – 5 October, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm

Open hours Fri–Sun 11 am – 4 pm, Mon–Tue 11 am – 5 pm

Auction Live 6 October, 3 pm, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm

A guide for buyers – how to bid

You can bid with a paddle in the auction room, by phone, by absentee bidding, or by live online. Choose the option you find the most convenient. Please notice that if you are an online customer, you need to be approved as a hammer auction customer to be able to bid at the auction. This rule applies regardless if you choose to bid in the auction room, online, by phone or by absentee bidding. Contact validation@bukowskis.com to get the approval or if you have any further questions.

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Payment and collection

Emanuelsson, as portrayed by artists Peter Frie and Britt Arnstedt

Olle – a man, a father and a friend with a big heart and with eyes longing for all things beautiful. As a true ’smålänning’, he was careful with the finances except when it came to art – as long as there was no tipping involved. ‘Nix drix’ (‘no tips’) was his motto.

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Olle – a man, a father and a friend with a big heart and with eyes longing for all things beautiful. As a true ’smålänning’, he was careful with the finances except when it came to art – as long as there was no tipping involved. ‘Nix drix’ (‘no tips’) was his motto.

I first got to know Olle in the early 90’s at one of my exhibitions in Stockholm, at the gallery I was featured at. Olle proved to be a very nice man with a cheerful spirit, and he was easy to immediately befriend. He was a man with a strong and honest interest in art, not only in a personal way but he would very much enthuse his friends and family to discover and understand what he experienced when being around the arts (he even managed to trick a few into becoming interested in buying works from me).

In other words, a gallery owner’s and an artist’s Prince Charming. Olle was collecting art from his generational fellows since he was young, such as some work by Curt Asker, some sculpture by Lars Englund, not to mention a magnificent painting by Bærtling. But Olle could also be childishly curious and excited about what was later shown in the galleries, by somewhat younger artists. He would continue to expand his collection with, for example, a few paintings by the Norwegian ‘enfant terrible’, Bjarne Melgaard or some work by Dan Wolgers.

If there were an exhibition opening, Olle would be visiting, had he the chance. The auction house showings were also carefully searched in the hunt for something interesting to add to the ever-growing collection. Olle was a real aesthete, with a love of surrounding himself with beautiful and meaningful objects. Visiting any of his homes in Stockholm, Mallorca or even as far away as in Thailand, you would always get a chance to see some meticulously chosen art or objects, proudly displayed by Olle. His apartment in Stockholm was cluttered with artwork, most of them of a moderate format, so that he could pleasantly surround himself with them every day. No wall or section of the floor should be devoid of a distinguishing piece of art.

Recent times
As time passed, our friendship developed and we spent much time together in Asia, among other places, where we, Britt, Olle and me, came to be something like a little family far away from Sweden. Olle would always call in the morning – keeping in touch – wanting to meet and make up a plan for the day. He preferred not to be alone. When we could, we would have dinner together at night and then watch a film in our home. Olle was a pleasant guest and would keep us in a good mood with his big smile, hearty laugh and tongue-in-cheek humor. We had many long walks along the beach. Sometimes we would have lunch at some beach club, or down at the little fish restaurant in the village or on the beach.

Olle loved the sun! Really loved it. He could sunbathe for hours, perhaps reading a book. But preferably he wanted to be in company – because if anything he liked conversing, about old memories from when Småland was the base of operations and the whole rest of Sweden was his office. He knew much about beautiful and delicate cloth; he was a master of textiles and he always dressed snappy. As mentioned, Olle created a personal home wherever in the world he was, and this was also the case in Thailand. Here, dazzling furniture in bright colours could be seen next to interesting photos and oil paintings on the walls. Sometimes he would arrange a dinner, where we would sit around the long table together. Usually, we would be treated to his special: oven roasted salmon. Olle ate almost exclusively fish the last few years. He would always follow the news about what was happening in the world. For Olle, it was important to keep up with the state of the world, sports and finance. Every day his children called from Sweden to check that everything was fine. He was so thankful for this. The family meant a lot to him.

Olle never gave up. He travelled despite poor health in old age, fighting, but always with a smile until the end.

In memory of Olle – Friend, Claes Moser

Perhaps it was art that connected us in Pollença on Mallorca during the 1980’s. But there, a more important friendship than a material one was established, in the sunshine under the palm leaves. The converted Düsseldorf master Roland Gesang, an art dealer stocking merely three artist names, Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson and Bruno Liljefors, suddenly sung a different tune in line with modern times, echoing the obscure art world of New York City. Dubuffet, Warhol, Niki de Saint Phalle, Tinguely, Mitchell and others were vying for attention. Meanwhile, I stood as a pillar of salt in the shadow of the Nordic light that made its entry in the pre-owned market. Read more

Perhaps it was art that connected us in Pollença on Mallorca during the 1980’s. But there, a more important friendship than a material one was established, in the sunshine under the palm leaves. The converted Düsseldorf master Roland Gesang, an art dealer stocking merely three artist names, Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson and Bruno Liljefors, suddenly sung a different tune in line with modern times, echoing the obscure art world of New York City. Dubuffet, Warhol, Niki de Saint Phalle, Tinguely, Mitchell and others were vying for attention. Meanwhile, I stood as a pillar of salt in the shadow of the Nordic light that made its entry in the pre-owned market. Olle was absorbed by the winds that fringed the denim that paid his bills. The proverb ‘a cobbler should stick to his last’ was given no attention by the enthusiast from Småland, who frequently collected fragments from other worlds and household gods with strange signatures. The first art purchases were relegated to the wardrobe. Nights spent at Bar Español or Club Pollença brought everybody together around all sorts of subjects, not only related to the arts. The renaissance of the kitchen stove and the flavors delivered by Olle devoured many art theories of all too different sorts. A promising master of the herb garden did deliver.
His one-cylinder Citroën would take off after our daily mending in the hills. Olle stubbornly avoided rental cars, even though he had already invested too much into the local engineering industry. My own place in the world of graduate economics had no effect. ‘One’s own stove is worth gold’, as advertised by Värnamo Nyheter. Palma seemed more and more inviting and Pollença was soon found in the second division of the ‘good-to-have’-group. The art collecting was complemented with a never-ending amassing of residences, with walls that seemed to lack the spatial limitations that other people experience. Independence and willpower can sometimes take you further than academic eloquence.