Viewing Nybrogatan 32, Stockholm, 18-21 October, weekdays 10-18, Saturday 11-16.
Stockholms Auktionsverk is proud to present a vast collection of 69 paintings by artist Gottfrid Kallstenius.
Gottfrid Kallstenius (Västervik 1861-1943 Stockholm) is primarily known today for his depictions of the archipelago in the Baltic Sea, capturing the urban dweller's dream of the Swedish summer. His sunlit, expansive seascapes, sunsets, and moonlit nights, often featuring cliffs and pine trees in the background, have become his hallmark for the Swedish people, akin to Carl Larsson's interior scenes from Sundborn and Bruno Liljefors' animal paintings. Kallstenius began working on paintings within this theme around the turn of the 20th century and continued into the 1930s, achieving significant popularity during his lifetime. His breakthrough painting was the monumental work "Solnedgång" (Sunset) with pines, created for the Royal Dramatic Theatre's foyer in 1907.
However, Kallstenius was a multifaceted artist. During the 1890s, his art was characterized by plein-air painting, and around the turn of the century, it shifted towards evocative national romanticism. He also produced symbolist works, with the most famous being the monumental painting "Den Saliga" (The Blessed One) from 1900-1907, which was sold at Stockholms Auktionsverk in 2009 for a record price of 960,000 SEK. During the war years, Kallstenius worked full-time for Axel Ax:son Johnson and completed the decoration of their headquarters on Birger Jarlsgatan in Stockholm, featuring motifs from their various fields of operation.
