$42,500
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
The George D. Horst Collection of Fine Art
Auction: March 30, 2014 3:00:00 PM EDT
Signed and dated 'G Fjaestad 13' bottom left; also with 'The Swedish Exhibition 1916 label' and 'Pan Pacific International Exposition 1915' San Francisco label verso, oil on canvas
47 3/8 x 57 3/4 in. (120.3 x 145.7cm)
Provenance: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Acquired from the above February 27, 1917.
The George D. Horst Collection of Fine Art.
EXHIBITED:
"Pan Pacific International Exposition." San Francisco, California, 1915.
"The Swedish Exhibition." Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1916, no. 85.
NOTE:
Gustaf Fjaestad was one of the leading members of the Rackstad colony of artists based in Varmland, Sweden. Led by the sculptor Christian Eriksson, Fjaestad and fellow Swedes, including Bjorn Ahlgrensson and Fritz Lindstrom, the Rackstad artists worked primarily in the first part of the 20th century and focused their efforts on depicting the local landscapes. They drew their inspiration from picturesque surroundings of Lake Racken, just north of the small town of Arvika, where Fjaestad and the other group members settled. Fjaestad was not only a highly accomplished and prolific painter, he also designed rugs and tapestries and was a furniture craftsman. The present work falls neatly within the artist's oeuvre: a realistically rendered undisturbed snow covered landscape with a partially frozen lake bank in the foreground shimmering with reflections. Typically devoid of figures, Fjaestad's painterly canvases have an almost pointillist quality and capture the pristine solitude of the Swedish countryside.