Orla Muff

Orla Muff (Danish, 1903–1984).

This work is offered unframed.

Orla Muff received his first formal art instruction at the Copenhagen Technical School from 1917–21, where he studied with the theatrical painter Carl Lund. He subsequently traveled, studied and painted throughout Europe including in France, Germany, Sweden and Holland.

In the early years of his career, Muff was celebrated as a designer of sophisticated Art Deco sets and costumes for prominent theatrical productions and revues throughout Europe. These included productions for Max Reinhardt's Theater in Berlin, the Mayol Theater in Oslo and the Folk Theater in Copenhagen, among others. In the early 1930s, however, he began to focus on easel painting, creating portraits and figural works as well as abstract paintings composed in a predominantly light color scale. His figures from this period are often mythologically derived, with a high degree of Art Deco stylization and contrasted against essentially abstract backgrounds. During the course of a long career, Orla Muff exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous medals, prizes and juried awards. We are pleased to offer this figural work painted when the artist was in his late thirties.

Signed lower right