Carl Larsson

Carl Larsson's biographer Ulwa Neergaard gives the following description of the motif in a letter dated 22 August 1995:

"In this painting, Carl Larsson has captured the tranquil atmosphere that prevailed on a warm summer day in the year 1911 in the garden in Sundborn. His beloved wife, Karin, has settled herself comfortably with a piece of handiwork in hand. She is wearing one of her signature cool, home-woven, striped cotton dresses, sewn in the simple fashion that was distinctly hers. A sun hat obscures her face entirely.

On the lawn, Brita, the 18-year-old daughter of Carl and Karin Larsson, is engrossed in a book. She has made herself comfortable, using an overturned garden chair as a support for her back. A bottle of homemade lemonade is close at hand on the table. The majestic birch tree, beneath which the family would often arrange breakfast on fair days, provides just the right amount of shade. The Sundborn river glinting through the greenery and the southeastern corner of Lilla Hyttnäs frames the quiet scene. Lilla Hyttnäs, the renowned home and studio of Carl and Karin Larsson is now known as Carl Larsson-gården.

This watercolour was sold by Carl Larsson to AB C.E. Fritze's Kongl. Hofbokhandel, Stockholm (Fredsgatan 2), as per Fritze's letter to Carl Larsson on December 21st, 1915, the contents of which are reproduced in their entirety below:

"Herewith, we take the pleasure of remitting the sum of 1,500 Swedish kronor (1,500:-) as payment for the sold watercolour 'Sommardag,' as indicated in reference number 98585. The attached receipt is kindly requested to be completed and returned.

With utmost respect,
AB C.E. Fritze's Kongl. Hofbokhandel
C.A. Strandman."
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Karin Larsson - An iconic designer far ahead of her time

In the painting "Summer day, Karin and Brita in the garden", Karin is portrayed with a piece of needlework in her lap. She is embroidering one of the bed curtains for the bedroom at Lilla Hyttnäs. She is wearing one of her typical loose-fitting dresses of her own design. The airy fabric flows out in soft folds over the garden stool. The striped material has been cut to create contrasts in the yoke, the high fashionable collar and the large billowing 'mutton-leg' sleeves. It was a bold and free design, a far cry from the era's ideal of narrow, corseted waists. Karin's creative vigour and personal sense of style was a very important component of Carl Larsson's oeuvre.

Karin Larsson, born Bergöö, was the hub around which Carl Larsson's life and art revolved. She was his muse, his model and his art critic. She was a trained artist and had studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and in Paris. She was the mother of eight children and when her first daughter Suzanne was born, she turned her artistic endeavours to decorating her home, designing furniture, weaving, embroidering and making clothes for herself and her children.

In 1888, Karin and Carl received the cottage Lilla Hyttnäs as a gift from Karin's father. They would go on to transform what was originally a small log cabin into one of the world's most famous and personal artist's homes.

Karin and Carl Larsson were an artist couple who worked in symbiosis, Karin creating the home and interiors that Carl depicted. The bold interior decorating, the modern textiles, the rustic furniture - she designed most of it herself. Karin is now recognized in her own right, thanks in large part to the exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 1997 which celebrated her work. The auction's painting "Summer Day, Karin and Brita in the Garden" was included in the exhibition and was depicted on the exhibition's invitation card. In the extensive catalogue, Karin Larsson's work as a designer and textile artist is described by journalist and author Lena Rydin:

"Karin's textiles were highly original. She anticipated the coming of abstract textile art. Her powerful compositions were executed in vibrant colours; the embroidery often depicted stylised plants. In black and white linen, she interpreted Japanese motifs. Technically adventurous, she explored traditional folk techniques and experimented with others...In Sundborn, the Larssons developed an aesthetic camaraderie. He was exuberant, covering the walls with flowers and leaves. She arranged live flowers, but was spartan and often abstract in her designs. The colours of the interiors seem to have been chosen together. Their combined efforts created a perfect whole."

Images:
Albert Engström, Carl and Karin Larsson and Anders Zorn, 1905. Photo: Carl Larsson-gården.
Invitation card, Victorian and Albert Museum, London, 1997. Front and back.
Lilla Hyttnäs - the white bench, 2016. Photo: Carl Larsson-gården.
Lilla Hyttnäs - the garden, 2016. Photo: Carl Larsson-gården.
At the millstone table: Carl Larsson, Brita, Karin Larsson, Leontine, Lisbeth, Esbjörn, Olga Palm, Pontus, Kersti (from right to left) Sundborn, Lilla Hyttnäs, 1904. Photo: Carl Larsson-gården A221