Carl Larsson

Acquired from the artist by Lars Hökerberg, Stockholm, in 1888;
Anonymous sale, Stockholm, Norden Auktioner, 30 May 1996, lot 284;
There purchased by the present collector.

Stockholm, Nationalmuseum Stockholm, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Carl Larsson 100 ar. Minnesutställning Commemorative Exhibition, 1953, cat. nos. 35, 36.

U. Neergard, Carl Larsson: signerat med pensel och penna, Stockholm 1999, vol. I, p. 112,  Trädgårdsidyll reproduced in color; p. 113, Telefonering reproduced in color; vol. II, p. 38, nos. 364 & 364a,
catalogued.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in perfect and untouched condition. The canvas remains on its original stretcher. The paint layer has most likely never been cleaned and there are no paint losses. A light cleaning and a varnish will make a huge difference and the painting is in lovely state. Prepared by Sotheby's Specalists: The unmounted sketch has a quarter inch area of loss at the upper left corner which is not visible with the present frame. There is a small spot of brown staining to area at left of Cupid and faint, white discolorations (the majority in the area the around Cupid) as visible in the photograph.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The present oil, together with the accompanying sketch, were executed in 1888, the same year that Carl and Karin Larsson were given the little cottage in Sundborn by Karin's father. In the two works Carl maps out the bucolic vision he shared with his wife for the property.

The pen and ink sketch is a semiburlesque tribute to Karin's urge to realise her dream of spending time in the country. As the dialogue in the sketch explains, while "Lisa" (Karin) talks to the farmer on the telephone, the operator in the guise of Cupid receives a call from a handsome man about town (surely an allusion to Larsson himself). When the man asks the operator to be connected to "Lisa", he receives the reply that the line is busy. Equally tongue-in-cheek, in the oil Larsson depicts a similar girl sporting a similar flower bedecked bonnet grafting in the garden; behind her the same dinner-jacketed young man evokes mock surprise at the scene of toil he encounters as he peers down on the girl from behind, squinting through his monocle.

Carl and Karin's transformation of the cottage is well documented. It came to represent a vision of domestic harmony and Swedish style the world over. But when they first took on the property as their summer residence they found little to recommend it. The dwelling, which they named Lilla Hyttnäs, was perched on what Larsson called a slag heap, and was accompanied by a couple of lilac bushes, some birch trees and a potato patch. Very quickly a studio was added to the house, and in the ensuing years further extensions and improvements were made. Likewise over the same period the garden was made-over. As Michael Snodin describes: "...the garden [at Lilla Hyttnäs] (the lilac and birches apart) was judged to be very unsatisfactory, [the Larssons] were obliged to bring in top soil, starting with a load to feed a group of lilies by the porch. These marked the beginning of a notable garden, informally planted (not without a struggle) with other Swedish and more exotic flowers, which also helped to supply the Larssons' passion for plants indoors" (Carl and Karin Larsson Creators of the Swedish Style, exh. cat., London, 1999, p. 97). In early October 1888 Larsson sent both the oil and the pen and ink sketch with an explanatory letter from Grèz-sur-loing in France where he was visiting, to the Swedish publisher Lars Hökerberg. As Larsson explained in his letter, his intention was that both works being largely monochrome would be easy for the publisher to reproduce.

The oil painting and pen and ink drawing have remained together since they were first delivered to Lars Hökerberg, and are offered together in the present lot.