Helene Schjerfbeck

Gösta Stenman (1888-1947; acquired from the artist)
Private collection (by 1953)
Sale: Bukowski's, Stockholm, 19 April 1978, lot 236
Purchased by the late owner at the above sale

Stockholm, Stenmans Konstsalong, 1944, no. 120
Stockholm, Stenmans Konstsalong, Helene Schjerfbeck: in memoriam, 1946, no. 117

H. Ahtela (Einar Reuter), Helene Schjerfbeck, Stockholm, 1953, p. 370, no. 893
Helene Schjerfbeck, exh. cat., Ateneum, Helsinki, 1992, p. 276, no. 453, catalogued & illustrated
Helene Schjerfbeck: 150 years, exh. cat., Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, 2012, p. 324, no. 656, catalogued & illustrated (as Trees on the Shore)

Oil on a thin sheet of cardboard. The cardboard's edges are somehow uneven. There are some pin-head sized spots of flaking in the extreme upper edge and two small spots in the upper right corner, as visible in the catalogue illustration. Ultra-violet light shows no visible sign of retouching. This work is in good original condition and ready to hang. Presented in a simple gilt frame with a beige inner slip, in line with those Gösta Stenman used for works by the artist.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1942.

Exemplifying her increasingly free, abstracted late style, Trees belongs to a small series of works on paper and on board that Schjerfbeck painted that year. Schjerbeck executed the present view from her window at the Luontola sanatorium in Nummela, where she had moved with assistance from Gösta Stenman's daughter Maja Rydman. Looking out over lake Hiidenvesi, whose name means literally 'devil's water', Schjerfbeck wrote of having been captivated by the changing light and colours of the landscape. In its sensitivity and restrained tonal harmonies the composition bears comparison with Nicolas de Staël and Giorgio Morandi. 

An inscription by Stenman on the verso identifies the view and the date of the present work. Trees was exhibited by Stenman with 133 other works by Schjerfbeck in 1944, one of the largest exhibitions staged during the artist's latter years. Stenman organised another exhibition of nearly 150 works (including the present work) in the year of her death, when memorial exhibitions were also held in Helsinki at the Artek gallery and the Finnish Fine Arts Society. 

Schjerfbeck's artistic production in these years acquired a striking new intensity and vigour best demonstrated by the twenty unflinchingly frank and original self-portraits which are among the highlights of her oeuvre. 

We are grateful to Leena Ahtola-Moorhouse for her assistance in cataloguing this work.