Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947)

An Old Military Road, The Road over Dovrefjell, Norway

gouache on paper, ca. 1900
signed
sheet 12.5 cm x  17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in) 
framed 23 × 28 cm (9 × 11 in)

Essay:
This evocative mountain scene captures the vast, windswept highlands of Dovrefjell in central Norway. A narrow ochre road winds gently into the distance, cutting through tundra dotted with lichen-covered rocks, melting snowfields, and pale blue pools. Beyond the foreground, low ridgelines and rounded peaks rise up toward the horizon, tinged with mauves, rusts, and icy whites. The atmosphere is brisk and luminous—suggesting early morning light breaking over a remote, high-altitude plateau.

Dovrefjell, historically a main route between southern and northern Norway, has long been traversed by traders, pilgrims, and soldiers. The title of this work refers to the old military road across the massif—once a key artery for movement through the mountainous terrain. Borg’s painting conveys not only the natural beauty of the place, but also the quiet isolation and historical depth that characterize the region.

Painted around 1900, this gouache dates from Carl Oscar Borg’s earliest period as an artist, just before his emigration to the United States. Unlike his later, more widely known depictions of the American Southwest, this work belongs to a rare group of Scandinavian landscapes he executed as a young man. Here, his brush is loose and expressive, capturing fleeting light and shifting cloud with confident, fluid strokes. The composition is simple yet expansive, inviting the viewer to follow the winding road into the heart of the mountains.

As an early plein-air study, An Old Military Road reveals Borg’s sensitivity to light, land, and mood—qualities that would come to define his mature work. In this small but richly atmospheric piece, we see an artist on the verge of his transatlantic journey, absorbing the Nordic wilderness with a clarity and calm that echo across time.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947) Swedish/American

Arizona Landscape

gouache on paper
signed CARL OSCAR BORG.
unframed: 12 x 17.5 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/8 in)
framed: 22 x 27 cm (8 5/8 x 10 5/8 in)

Provenance: 
Nagel Auctions, Stuttgart, Germany, 08 dec 2010, lot 1036.

Essay:
In this expressive gouache study, Carl Oscar Borg captures the dramatic sweep of the Arizona highlands, where storm clouds gather over layered mesas and valleys bathed in shifting light. Painted with fluid brushstrokes and a bold sense of contrast, the work reflects the artist’s deep connection to the American Southwest and its untamed beauty. The swirling forms of clouds and shadowed ridges lend the scene a sense of movement and emotional weight.

This compact composition—rendered in gouache on card—embodies the immediacy of a plein air study, likely painted on location during one of Borg’s extensive journeys through Arizona. The chromatic tension between the earthy foreground and the deep blues of the distant hills reflects Borg’s ability to balance drama with harmony.

Born in Sweden in 1879, Carl Oscar Borg immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, eventually settling in California. He became one of the most prominent interpreters of the Southwest, known for his sensitive portrayals of Native American life and his vivid depictions of landscapes in New Mexico, Arizona, and California. His career spanned painting, teaching, and film art direction, and his work is represented in many major American museum collections.

Arizona Landscape is a striking testament to Borg’s gift for capturing not only the geography of the West, but its atmosphere—vast, volatile, and profoundly alive.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947) Swedish/American

Blue Mountains, New Mexico

gouache on paper
signed CARL OSCAR BORG.
unframed: 12 x 17.5 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/8 in)
framed: 22 x 27 cm (8 5/8 x 10 5/8 in)

Provenance: 
Nagel Auctions, Stuttgart, Germany, 08 dec 2010, lot 1034.

Essay:
In this luminous landscape study, Carl Oscar Borg captures the serene beauty of the New Mexican high desert, likely looking toward Mount Taylor, a sacred peak that rises above the surrounding mesas and plains west of Albuquerque. The distant blue-violet tones of the mountain, softened by atmospheric haze, contrast elegantly with the warmer hues of the foreground—rust-red earth, green groves, and tranquil washes of water.

Painted in gouache on card, this work demonstrates Borg’s characteristic ability to convey depth and radiance with economy and precision. His use of color—subtle yet expressive—evokes the clarity of Southwestern light and the quiet monumentality of its landscapes.

Carl Oscar Borg was born in 1879 in Grinstad, Sweden, and immigrated to the United States at the turn of the century. Settling in California, he rose to prominence as a painter of the American West, becoming particularly known for his respectful depictions of Hopi and Navajo life and for his dramatic renderings of the region’s natural wonders. A multifaceted figure, Borg also worked as a film art director in early Hollywood and was a founding member of the California Art Club. He exhibited widely and is represented in major American museum collections.

In this intimate work, Borg distills the spirit of the Southwest into a quiet but powerful composition—a testament to his deep reverence for the land and its stories.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947) Swedish/American

Easter Fires, Dalsland (Påskeldar, Dalsland)

gouache on paper
signed 
sheet 12.5 cm x 17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in)
framed 23 x 28 (9 x 11 in) 

Essay:
A rare and atmospheric work from Carl Oscar Borg’s early years in Sweden, this evocative gouache captures the tradition of Easter fires (påskeldar) in the rural region of Dalsland. Against a smoky, windswept sky, silhouettes of figures gather near a roaring blaze. The fire’s bright orange and rose-colored flames cut through the night, casting fleeting light on the surrounding darkness. Quick, expressive brushstrokes heighten the drama of the scene, as heat and movement ripple through the composition.

This painting stands apart from Borg’s later, better-known American landscapes. Here, the focus is not on the grandeur of nature but on a moment of human ritual—communal, ancient, and deeply rooted in Nordic folklore. The påskeldar tradition, still practiced in parts of Sweden, historically served to ward off evil spirits and celebrate the arrival of spring.

Carl Oscar Borg left Sweden in 1901 and became a celebrated interpreter of the American West, painting its deserts, pueblos, and dramatic vistas. But works such as Påskeldar, Dalsland offer a rare glimpse into his early artistic vision—when his palette was still shaped by the dusky forests and folk customs of his native land. It reveals a different side of Borg: not the chronicler of the Wild West, but the young Scandinavian artist attuned to the elemental drama of firelight and shadow.

This intimate gouache glows with memory and myth, a flicker from the artist’s roots before his journey westward began.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947) Swedish/American

Inscription Rock, New Mexico

gouache on paper
signed CARL OSCAR BORG.
unframed: 12 x 17.5 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/8 in)
framed: 22 x 27 cm (8 5/8 x 10 5/8 in)

Provenance: 
Nagel Auctions, Stuttgart, Germany, 08 dec 2010, lot 1037.

Essay:
This striking gouache by Swedish-American artist Carl Oscar Borg depicts the monumental sandstone formation known as Inscription Rock, part of El Morro National Monument in western New Mexico. Towering above the desert plain, this dramatic outcrop has served for centuries as a waypoint for travelers, who carved their names and messages into the soft rock—ranging from ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs to inscriptions by Spanish explorers and American pioneers.

Carl Oscar Borg was born in 1879 in the village of Grinstad, Dalsland, Sweden, and immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. Settling in California, he became a celebrated painter of the American Southwest, capturing its vast landscapes and Native cultures with deep reverence and dramatic flair. Borg was closely associated with the Hopi and Navajo peoples and is often described as their "artistic interpreter."

An influential figure in the California art scene, Borg also worked as an art director during the golden age of silent film and taught at institutions including the California Art Institute and the Santa Barbara School of the Arts. His work is represented in major museum collections across the United States.

In Inscription Rock, New Mexico, Borg's sensitive handling of color and texture conveys the spiritual grandeur of the Southwestern landscape. The painting is a fine example of his enduring fascination with the land and its layered histories.

Emma Ekwall (1838–1925)

The Wool Winder (1877)

oil on canvas
unframed 57 × 47 cm (22.4 × 18.5 inches)
framed 72.5 × 63 cm (28.5 × 24.8 inches)
signed and dated: Emma Ekwall 1877

Essay:
In The Wool Winder, Emma Ekwall captures a moment of quiet domestic intimacy between a young woman and a man as they wind wool together—she with focused care, he with gentle attentiveness. The yarn, drawn from a basket at their feet, winds its way across the floor and through their hands, forming both a literal and symbolic thread of connection between them.

The scene is rendered with remarkable clarity and warmth. Details such as the carefully painted porcelain vase, the folded blanket with floral print, and the rifle resting nearby add narrative richness and suggest a life beyond the frame. The woman’s face, delicately modeled and softly lit, becomes the emotional heart of the composition. Her thoughtful expression and modest posture invite the viewer to imagine what unspoken emotions might lie beneath the surface. Is this a simple household task, or a tender moment of courtship?

Emma Ekwall was one of the earliest women to break into the Swedish academic art world. She studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts from 1865–1871, and in 1871 became the first woman to receive the Academy’s royal medal—a distinction that marks her as a true pioneer. Throughout her career, Ekwall became known for genre scenes and portraits that portrayed women and children with insight, grace, and dignity. In The Wool Winder, she combines technical finesse with a subtle psychological touch that sets her apart from many of her contemporaries.

This painting is a fine example of Ekwall’s sensitivity to mood and her ability to infuse everyday scenes with poetic meaning. It speaks not only to the domestic world of 19th-century life, but to the emotional depth and quiet agency of women—subjects she returned to again and again with skill and empathy. Today, her work is represented in several museum collections, including Sweden’s Nationalmuseum.

Condition Report
The painting is in very good condition. The colors remain clear and vibrant. The canvas is structurally sound and stable. The painting is presented in a newly gilded frame, which is included in the sale.

Fritz Lindström (1874–1962)

Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees), 1928

oil on panel
unframed 15.5 × 24 cm (6.1 × 9.4 in)
framed: 26 × 34 cm (10.2 × 13.4 in)
signed on the reverse
Frame by Stockholms Förgyllning och Bildhuggeri

Exhibited:
This painting was likely included in Fritz Lindström’s solo exhibition held in Arvika during the Christmas season of 1931. There, he presented grand panoramas from Värmland alongside delicate landscapes from the Pyrenees – a series to which this work likely belongs. Three small paintings were sold at the exhibition.

Essay:
This atmospheric mountain landscape in oil captures the vastness of a sunlit range beneath a subtly clouded sky. Executed with confident brushwork and a delicate modulation of color, the scene conveys both grandeur and serenity within a compact format. Though undated, the painting can be confidently linked to Fritz Lindström’s 1928 journey to the Pyrenees. Recent visual comparisons have allowed us to match the terrain with known Pyrenean features, and the Swiss Alps — which the artist visited later in 1934 — can be ruled out.

Fritz Lindström was a Swedish painter known for his luminous landscapes and perceptive portraits. He studied in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Paris at the turn of the century, before settling in Arvika in 1903. There he became a central figure in the Rackstad artists’ colony, a group of painters, sculptors, and craftsmen who sought inspiration in the nature and folk traditions of Värmland. The Rackstad group played a vital role in shaping Swedish national romanticism and helped define a distinctly Nordic visual identity in the early 20th century.
His works are represented in major Swedish museums, including the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Värmlands Museum in Karlstad, and the Rackstad Museum in Arvika, which is dedicated to the artists of the Rackstad colony.

The panel is presented in its original hand-carved and gilded frame, made by Stockholms Förgyllning och Bildhuggeri – a workshop known for its craftsmanship and fine finish. 

Govert Dircksz Camphuysen (Dockum 1623–1672 Amsterdam)

Still Life with Oysters, a Roemer and Other Objects

signed “G. Camphuysen fecit”
oil on panel
unframed 29.8 x 36 cm (11¾ x 14¼ in.)
framed 40 x 46 cm (15 ¾ x 18 ⅛ in)

Provenance:
Ekhof, Björnlunda Parish, Gnesta Municipality, Södermanland, Sweden

Expertise:
Stéphane Pinta, Cabinet Turquin, Paris

Condition:
The painting underwent a comprehensive conservation between 2024 and 2025 under the care of Sonia Leon. The aged varnish was removed, and areas affected by age-related wear were carefully retouched. 

Essay:
This previously unpublished painting was first securely attributed to Govert Dircksz Camphuysen in 1944, following an examination at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm during which the artist’s signature was discovered. As this attribution was not known to Bengt Rapp, the painting is not included in his thorough survey of the artist’s life and work during his Swedish period (1652–63), published in Djur- och Stilleben i karolinskt måleri (1951, pp. 15–26). The work is of considerable art historical importance. Alongside another undated still life by Camphuysen, Still Life with Provisions and a Cat (formerly in the De Geer collection at Finspång Castle), it is considered the earliest known still life in Swedish art history (op. cit., p. 24). These works mark the beginning of still life painting in Sweden. Through them, Camphuysen introduced a new subject matter that would later be taken up by the Swedish-born painter Christian Thum (c. 1625–1686).

Like many artists of his time, Camphuysen was drawn by reports of growing artistic patronage in Sweden and decided to seek opportunity in service of the emerging great power. In the spring of 1652, he left Amsterdam with his family and arrived in Skåne in the autumn. From 1653, he was active at the court of Dowager Queen Maria Eleonora in Nyköping (widow of Gustavus Adolphus and mother of Queen Christina). Records from her account books in 1654 reveal that Camphuysen undertook several journeys on her behalf, including to Arboga and Ulfsunda. In August that year, he returned from Ulfsunda in the dowager queen’s retinue (op. cit., pp. 17–18). That same year, he also executed a large painting, Cows and Peasants (2 x 2 m), now at Övedskloster in Skåne.

Following the dowager queen’s death on March 28, 1655, Camphuysen moved to Stockholm. His name appears regularly in the baptismal records of the German Church there until 1661. According to Old Granberg (Konsthistoriska studier och anteckningar, 1895, p. 46), Camphuysen also served as court painter to King Charles X Gustav after Queen Christina’s abdication. It was during this period that he produced what is perhaps his most famous work, The Royal Castle of Tre Kronor, dated 1661—an iconic topographical view of seventeenth-century Stockholm (Stockholm City Museum). In his final years in Sweden, Camphuysen was employed by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie at Jacobsdal (now Ulriksdal Palace). Castle records show that he was working on decorative commissions in the great hall there in 1662–63 (Rapp, op. cit., p. 25). He returned to Amsterdam in 1665.

The present painting was formerly part of the collection at Ekhof, an estate with roots in the 16th century. In 1566, Sigvard Månsson Kruse af Elghammar (1578–1624) purchased one of the two tax farms in the village, converting it into a noble estate. His son, General Erik Kruse af Kajbala (1616–1665), was granted tax exemption in 1653 and built a manor originally named Ånhammar. The estate was inherited by his son, Carl Gustaf af Kruse (1651–1732), and remained in the family until 1720. During her husband’s captivity in Russia following the Battle of Poltava, Charlotta Catharina, Carl Kruse’s wife, sold the property. It was then acquired by the widow Belau (or Below), and the estate became known as Ekhammarshof and later Ekhof. It subsequently passed to her son-in-law, Gudmund Adelberth. Her granddaughter, Hedvig Charlotta von Fuhrman, married Ture Johan Bielke in 1768. He had the current main building erected around 1790; it was completed in 1792. Involved in the conspiracy to assassinate King Gustav III, Bielke took his own life by poison to avoid prosecution. His widow remained on the estate until 1795. Later owners include von Baumgarten (1799), Wachtmeister (1816), Edlund (1825), Lönnerberg (1849), and Aspelin (1856). From 1926, the estate belonged to the Björling family, and in 1978 it was acquired by Johan and Lena Rinman. Today, the estate operates under Ekhov Säteri AB.

Follower of Jacob Savery (1566-1603)

Concert of Birds

18th-century
oil on panel
unframed: 42 × 44 cm (16.5 × 17.3 in)
framed: 53 × 54 cm (20.9 × 21.3 in)

Expertise: 
Stéphane Pinta, Cabinet Turquin, Paris. 

Provenance:
Private collection (Segersjö Manor, Sweden).

Condition: 
The painting is in a fine condition, having undergone careful conservation by restorer Sonia Léon (2024–2025). Only very minor retouching is detectable under UV light; the original glaze and pigment survive beautifully. The panel is stable and free of major cracks. It is shown in a richly gilded Baroque-style frame that complements the work; the frame has minor wear and several discreet repairs consistent with its age, but remains robust and handsome.

Essay:
This enchanting wood-panel painting assembles a menagerie of exotic and domestic fowl in a lush landscape, bathed in a gentle shaft of light from an overcast sky. The vivid blue peacock reigns at center atop a sandy mound, flanked by graceful white swans to the left. A proud rooster and a magnificent brown eagle (or similar raptor) stand to the right, while a variety of other birds—a heron or stork, a red-crested fowl, and smaller waterfowl—gather around. Above them, brilliantly colored parrots perch on a branch, adding bursts of red and green. The painter’s precise yet lively brushwork captures every shimmering feather and subtle shift of posture, creating a tableau that feels both natural and deliberately staged.

Artistic Tradition and Symbolism
This bird concert belongs to a well-known Flemish and Dutch tradition of the 17th–18th centuries, where painters depicted assemblies of birds as allegories. Such scenes often celebrate the sense of hearing or musical harmony in nature. In many examples, an owl sits perched like a conductor holding a musical score; here there is no visible owl or notation, but the composition itself — with birds turned as if to listen — suggests a silent music. A ray of light from heaven illuminates the gathering, hinting at divine harmony or a saintly blessing. Legend held that birds of Saint Francis of Assisi (sometimes called “birds of the devil” in old fables) could miraculously sing, and this subject was also linked to devotion to “Our Lady of the Birds.”

Jacob Savery’s Legacy and Similar Works
Jacob Savery (1566–1603) was a Flemish-born painter who settled in the Netherlands and became known for detailed landscapes and animal scenes. He trained his nephew Roelant Savery (1576–1639), who became famous for animal paradise scenes (often including a dodo and exotic birds). Jacob Savery himself (and his circle of followers) produced lush bird-and-animal compositions that influenced later generations.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, many artists in this Northern European tradition painted “concerts of birds.” For example:

• A Circle of Jacob Savery panel (sold at Christie’s) shows exactly this mix of swans, peacocks, parrots, cockatoos and other birds gathered in a landscape.

• Frans Snyders (Antwerp, 1579–1657) created at least five famous Concert of Birds compositions (early 1630s). In Snyders’ works (now in Madrid’s Prado, the Hermitage, Petworth House, etc.), 

• Jan Brueghel the Younger (Antwerp, 1601–1678) painted an Allegory of Sound: Concert of Birds on a small copper (in which many species perch on trees around an owl and sheet music). 

• Pieter Casteels III (Antwerp, 1684–1749) was an 18th-century specialist in flower and bird paintings. In 1727 he signed a large Concert of Birds oil on canvas featuring peacocks, swans, and other exotic birds very similar to ours.
  

Composition, Style, and Notable Features
The painter’s technique balances detail with atmosphere. Feathers are carefully rendered, giving each bird a lifelike presence. Yet the brushstrokes in the foliage and distant trees are freer, creating a soft-focus depth. The color scheme is warm and earthy: russets and ochres in the ground and eagle, deep blues and greens in the peacock, and the brilliant whites of the swans shimmering against the landscape. A glow filters through the clouds, spotlighting the central group – a theatrical effect also found in some Snyders and Casteels compositions.

Unlike many earlier bird-concert paintings which place all birds on branches or classical pedestals, this Follower of Savery version uses the open ground as a stage. The absence of a sheet of music or human figure makes the scene more naturalistic and mystical at once. The overall impression is both decorative (full of exotic variety) and symbolic (the beam of light and attentive poses suggest a shared moment of natural harmony).

Provenance: Segersjö Manor, Sweden
The painting originates from the collection of Segersjö Manor in the province of Närke (Sweden). Segersjö, a country estate built in 1776, was historically the seat of the noble Montgomery (later Montgomery-Cederhielm) family and is noted for its extensive picture gallery and library. Over centuries Segersjö passed through royalty and Swedish nobility (even receiving royal favour from Queen Christina and Karl XII) and was known for its cultivated taste. 

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947) Swedish/American

Valley View with Pines and Distant Peaks

gouache on paper
signed
unframed 17.5 × 12.5 cm (6.9 × 4.9 inches)
framed 28 × 23 cm (11 × 9.1 inches)

Provenance: 
A Swedish private collection. 

Essay:
This luminous gouache captures a majestic mountain vista, likely set in California’s Sierra Nevada (possibly Yosemite). Two broad granite peaks with sunlit faces dominate the background, rendered in warm creams and purples. In the middle ground a dense conifer forest blankets the valley slopes, while a sunlit ridge of golden grasses and scattered pines lies in the foreground. Borg’s loose, impressionistic brushwork conveys the crisp mountain atmosphere and the play of light and shadow across rock and tree. Above, an open blue sky with wisps of cloud enhances the sense of high-altitude clarity. The composition draws the eye along a diagonal valley path toward the distant peaks, giving the scene a grand sense of depth and scale despite the painting’s small size. The effect is both vibrant and serene, evoking the expansive beauty of the Western wilderness.

Swedish-born Carl Oscar Borg was a prominent early-20th-century artist of the American West. After coming to California in 1901 and studying with landscape painter William Wendt, Borg became associated with the California Impressionists who celebrated coastal and mountain scenery with bold color and light-filled brushwork. He rose to wider fame by the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and spent decades painting throughout California, Arizona and New Mexico. Borg is best known for his respectful depictions of Native American life and for dramatic Western landscapes – from Yosemite’s granite domes and the Grand Canyon’s vast canyons to New Mexico’s blue-tinged mountains. This gouache exemplifies Borg’s characteristic style: energetic, economy of stroke and a clear, harmonious palette that captures the unique light of the Southwest. He often worked in small studies like this one en plein air, producing many sketches in watercolor and gouache of mountain and desert scenes. Comparable examples in his oeuvre include studies explicitly of Yosemite’s cliffs and sketches titled “Blue Mountains, New Mexico,” all featuring the same luminous distant ridges and sunlit foregrounds. The present work’s sweeping valley and towering peaks reflect Borg’s lifelong fascination with Western vistas. Today, Borg’s paintings are celebrated for their combination of vibrant color and evocative atmosphere – qualities beautifully showcased in this intimate mountain landscape.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947) Swedish/American

Easter Fires, Dalsland (Påskeldar, Dalsland)

gouache on paper
signed 
sheet 12.5 cm x 17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in)
framed 23 x 28 (9 x 11 in) 

Essay:
A rare and atmospheric work from Carl Oscar Borg’s early years in Sweden, this evocative gouache captures the tradition of Easter fires (påskeldar) in the rural region of Dalsland. Against a smoky, windswept sky, silhouettes of figures gather near a roaring blaze. The fire’s bright orange and rose-colored flames cut through the night, casting fleeting light on the surrounding darkness. Quick, expressive brushstrokes heighten the drama of the scene, as heat and movement ripple through the composition.

This painting stands apart from Borg’s later, better-known American landscapes. Here, the focus is not on the grandeur of nature but on a moment of human ritual—communal, ancient, and deeply rooted in Nordic folklore. The påskeldar tradition, still practiced in parts of Sweden, historically served to ward off evil spirits and celebrate the arrival of spring.

Carl Oscar Borg left Sweden in 1901 and became a celebrated interpreter of the American West, painting its deserts, pueblos, and dramatic vistas. But works such as Påskeldar, Dalsland offer a rare glimpse into his early artistic vision—when his palette was still shaped by the dusky forests and folk customs of his native land. It reveals a different side of Borg: not the chronicler of the Wild West, but the young Scandinavian artist attuned to the elemental drama of firelight and shadow.

This intimate gouache glows with memory and myth, a flicker from the artist’s roots before his journey westward began.

Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947)

An Old Military Road, The Road over Dovrefjell, Norway

gouache on paper, ca. 1900
signed
sheet 12.5 cm x  17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in) 
framed 23 × 28 cm (9 × 11 in)

Essay:
This evocative mountain scene captures the vast, windswept highlands of Dovrefjell in central Norway. A narrow ochre road winds gently into the distance, cutting through tundra dotted with lichen-covered rocks, melting snowfields, and pale blue pools. Beyond the foreground, low ridgelines and rounded peaks rise up toward the horizon, tinged with mauves, rusts, and icy whites. The atmosphere is brisk and luminous—suggesting early morning light breaking over a remote, high-altitude plateau.

Dovrefjell, historically a main route between southern and northern Norway, has long been traversed by traders, pilgrims, and soldiers. The title of this work refers to the old military road across the massif—once a key artery for movement through the mountainous terrain. Borg’s painting conveys not only the natural beauty of the place, but also the quiet isolation and historical depth that characterize the region.

Painted around 1900, this gouache dates from Carl Oscar Borg’s earliest period as an artist, just before his emigration to the United States. Unlike his later, more widely known depictions of the American Southwest, this work belongs to a rare group of Scandinavian landscapes he executed as a young man. Here, his brush is loose and expressive, capturing fleeting light and shifting cloud with confident, fluid strokes. The composition is simple yet expansive, inviting the viewer to follow the winding road into the heart of the mountains.

As an early plein-air study, An Old Military Road reveals Borg’s sensitivity to light, land, and mood—qualities that would come to define his mature work. In this small but richly atmospheric piece, we see an artist on the verge of his transatlantic journey, absorbing the Nordic wilderness with a clarity and calm that echo across time.

Oscar Lycke (1877-1927) Sweden

Fäbod Settlement near Liden, c. 1910

Pencil and crayon on paper
signed OSC. LYCKE
unframed 16.5 x 22.7 cm (6.5 x 8.9 in)
framed 18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.4 in)

Provenance:
Acquired directly from Katarina Gunnarsson, who inherited the painting from her mother, Barbro, the daughter of the artist.

Essay:
This exquisitely detailed drawing by Swedish artist Oscar Lycke captures a rustic settlement nestled in the golden highlands of northern Sweden, most likely depicting the traditional summer pastures of Bodåker near Liden, a region where the artist often found inspiration. Though modest in size, the drawing reveals Lycke’s exceptional skill and sensitivity, honed through years of dedicated study – including formal training in draftsmanship.

The landscape is rendered with a dynamic, almost rhythmic energy: the swirl of clouds above feels alive, their motion echoed in the curving lines of the earth below. A cluster of weathered timber buildings stands quietly amid the terrain, bathed in amber light. These structures – barns, cottages, storehouses – evoke the remote “fäbod” settlements once common in the highlands of Jämtland and Dalarna, where families and livestock spent summers in alpine isolation. Lycke's lines, finely layered with colored crayon, give texture and movement to the scene without sacrificing clarity or structure.

Oscar Lycke was a rare talent. Though he exhibited widely in Sweden, it was in New York that he achieved his greatest success. There, critics praised both his subtlety of vision and his technical command. His works speak of a deep affection for the Swedish landscape – not as grandiose or sentimental, but as something intimately known and honestly observed.

This small drawing is a fine example of that vision. It is unassuming but profound, precise but full of feeling. Lycke transforms a fleeting view into something quietly monumental.

Nils Kreuger (1858-1930) Sweden

Twilight at Öland Heath

watercolour on paper 
unframed c. 44×58 cm (17.3×22.8 in)
framed 60×74 cm (23.6×29.1 in)

Authentication: 
Inscribed on verso by Gustaf Jaensson.

Provenance: 
Gift to The Major Edward G. Edholm on his 60th birthday in 1932.

Essay:

This tranquil view shows Öland’s rolling green heath at dusk, with grazing sheep and a lone windmill on the far horizon. The broad sky streaked with soft gold and blue underscores Kreuger’s preference for atmospheric dawn or dusk light. The distant windmill is emblematic of Öland’s rural past – historically the island had nearly 2,000 wooden mills (about 400 remain) dotting its fields – while low stone walls and lush meadow reflect its unique landscape. A single black sheep among the flock adds a poetic accent to the scene, emphasizing the quiet solitude of the countryside.

Location and Setting

The gently undulating terrain and sea-horizon view suggest a site on southern or central Öland near the coast. Kreuger summered on Öland after 1896 (when he moved to Stockholm) and often painted its pastoral ridges. The highest hill (Högsrum, 55 m or 180 ft) lies north of Borgholm, but the softer slopes here hint at the island’s southern farmlands rather than the flat Stora Alvaret. One might speculate he painted near the Kalmar Strait, perhaps on the eastern flank of Borgholm’s grazing lands. Kreuger himself often simply inscribed “ÖLAND” on such works – for example, an 1885 scene is signed “Öland” by the artist. In any case, the exact hilltop remains unidentified, but it is unquestionably Öland: the sheep, scrubby shrubs, and distant mill are all signature motifs of the island.

Comparable Works

Kreuger returned repeatedly to Öland’s pastoral themes. For example, Öland Heath at Sunset (1903) shows a single cow on a golden heath at dusk, very much in the same spirit as this scene. His 1907 piece Sheep in a Dell likewise portrays grazing sheep under a vast sky. Earlier works like Siesta on Öland (1901) and Outlying Land (1901) also evoke the same low horizon and rolling pasture. These Öland landscapes, often signed simply with the place name, emphasize mood over detail – a hallmark of Kreuger’s mature style.

Artist and Collections

Nils Kreuger (1858–1930) was a Swedish landscape painter of the Varberg School. Trained in Stockholm and Paris (at the Académie Colarossi under Laurens), he painted en plein air and favored early morning or evening scenes. By 1900 his palette had lightened and he was using small dot-like brushstrokes, reflecting Impressionist influence. He co-founded the Artists’ Union and helped pioneer a more poetic Nordic style. Today Kreuger’s works hang in major Swedish museums – notably Stockholm’s Nationalmuseum and Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, as well as the Thiel Gallery and the Gothenburg Museum of Art – underscoring his importance in Scandinavian art history.