Good Art XIII

Crafoord Auktioner Stockholm presents the themed auction Good Art, highlighting this month’s selection of notable artists and works. These pieces deserve to be placed in meaningful contexts and, hopefully, to bring life and beauty to many walls.
We are now making a case for art, showcasing nearly 200 works by artists such as Asger Jorn, Max Ernst, Sven X:et Erixson, Serge Poliakoff, Jim Dine, James Rosenquist, Roberto Matta, Erland Cullberg, Hans Hartung, and Antoni Tàpies.
Other highlights include a monumental painting by French artist Dany Lartigue, Einar Nerman’s iconic original portrait of Greta Garbo, as well as a bronze sculpture of the so-called “Blaiseholmstorg Horse.”
In addition, an exciting and unique collection of art literature with original lithographs is presented, including Pablo Picasso Lithographe I–IV and XXe Siècle nos. 1–10.
Also featured is an intriguing collection of photographs by Victor Arimondi and Jan Saudek, along with exclusive coffee-table photography books — several of them signed — by David LaChapelle, Albert Watson, Peter Farago, and Helmut Newton.
On the sculpture side, the auction includes works by Bror Hjorth, Oscar and C.F. Reuterswärd, Stig Blomberg, Lucio Del Pezzo, Gusten Lindberg, Helge Högbom, James Coignard, Henrik Allert, Harald Sörensen-Ringi’s bronze sculpture of Isadora Duncan, Emil Näsvall, and Graham Ibbeson’s 150 cm high fiberglass figure, among many others.
The name Good Art has been used before. In 1941, the exhibition Good Art in Every Home opened under the auspices of HSB. Its ambition was to promote quality art in Swedish homes. The exhibition catalogue stated that it was not enough to build good housing — art must also have its place. The guiding principle was to offer good art to a wider public at affordable prices. To ensure the art truly was “good,” a jury of well-known artists and critics was engaged to review the works to be exhibited. As a result, it was possible, for example, to purchase GAN’s oil painting Berns 1918 for 5,000 SEK, the tempera The Rat for 350 SEK, and Laboratory for 500 SEK. Other names included in this “art for the people” initiative were Oskar Bergman, Einar Jolin, Arne Jones, Isaac Grünewald, Sixten Lundbohm, and Erik and Axel Olson. The exhibition’s 10th anniversary was shown at Liljevalchs Konsthall in Stockholm.
That same year, in 1941, Gunnar Hjorthén (1913–1997) opened Galleri God Konst on Vallgatan in Gothenburg. He came to be regarded as something of an institution in the city’s art scene. The gallery later moved to Drottninggatan, Konserthuset, and Södra Vägen. Hjorthén was dedicated to promoting and highlighting “young art,” with artists such as Ivan Ivarson, Karin Parrow, Ragnar Sandberg, and Inge Schiöler. Thanks in large part to Hjorthén and Galleri God Konst, the Gothenburg Colourists became a recognized term. Like the Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet in Stockholm, Hjorthén turned to Paris early on, connecting Swedish audiences with new painting. In 1953, for example, the work of Tsuguharu Foujita was exhibited.
You are warmly welcome to the viewing and to be inspired.