Oscar Lycke - A Winter Scene from Ljusdal, 1911

Oscar Lycke (1877–1927) Sweden

A Winter Scene from Ljusdal, 1911

mixed media on paper
Ink, chalk and likely watercolor
signed and dated Osc Lycke 1911
unframed 23 x 30.5
framed 33.5 x 41 
hand-made walnut frame from Stockholms Förgyllning och Bildhuggeri. 

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

Essay:
We are delighted to present this enchanting winter landscape by the Sundsvall-born artist Oscar Lycke. Executed in 1911, Motif from Ljusdal captures the serene beauty of a snow-covered forest with extraordinary delicacy and rhythm. The artwork is rendered in ink, chalk, and possibly watercolor, giving it a soft luminosity that evokes the quiet magic of a Nordic winter.

The scene bears a striking resemblance to the work of Gustaf Fjæstad, with whom Lycke was acquainted. In fact, Lycke exhibited alongside both Fjæstad and Richard Lindström in Helsingborg in 1917. Despite earlier discouragement from a drawing teacher who doubted his artistic potential, Lycke proved himself a highly skilled draftsman, this work stands as a testament to his remarkable talent.

Oscar Lycke (1877–1927) was born and raised in Sundsvall. Encouraged by one of his early art teachers, he pursued an artistic career without formal training. At the age of 20, he moved to Stockholm and began supporting himself through his art—initially with difficulty, but eventually with success. 

Over time, Lycke exhibited in cities across Sweden, as well as internationally in Copenhagen and even New York.
He frequently traveled in search of inspiration and lived in various parts of Sweden. For a time, he settled in Delsbo with his wife, who was from nearby Hudiksvall. During the war years of 1915–1918, he lived in Stockholm, spending summers in the coastal village of Räfsnäs. Later, he returned to Sundsvall, often summering in Bodacke, Liden—a region that provided countless motifs for his art.

Although not considered part of the major artistic canon of his time, Lycke enjoyed considerable recognition during his life and was able to support his family through his painting. His work blends national romanticism with a grounded realism typical of Scandinavian turn-of-the-century landscape painting. 

A posthumous exhibition at Sundsvall Museum in 1977–78 reaffirmed his enduring legacy, especially as a painter of northern Sweden. Even decades after his death, many homes—particularly those of former northerners—still proudly display his evocative depictions of the Norrland landscape.

Oscar Lycke died in 1927 at the age of just 50, after a period of illness and near-blindness. This drawing from 1911 remains one of his finest, and a quietly powerful homage to the beauty of the Swedish winter.