Sigrid Hjertén’s important breakthrough work to be offered at The Modern Art Sale

1918 was a pivotal year for Sigrid Hjertén. Together with her husband Isaac Grünewald and Leander Engström, she took part in the groundbreaking Expressionist Exhibition at Liljevalchs Konsthall, an event that became synonymous with the breakthrough of Modernism in Sweden. The exhibition, which included Badscen, provoked strong reactions. Hjertén in particular was subjected to disparaging criticism that dismissed her art as little more than a pale imitation of Isaac’s.

“It is striking to see how independently Sigrid Hjertén paints in Badscen. Here, she really pushes the boundaries and demonstrates what a fearless colourist she was. Today, this period is regarded as a high point in her artistic output,” says Lena Rydén, Director of Fine Art at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

The painting captures beach life on the Danish island of Fanø, where Sigrid and Isaac spent much of their time during the First World War. Hjertén transforms the beach into a setting charged with tension between idyllic summer life and psychological drama. Warm, intense light contrasts with a cooler area in shadow, where Isaac Grünewald and his sister Berthe appear. At the water’s edge is their son Iván with his sailboat. Steep diagonals and bold colour contrasts lend the composition a powerful sense of movement and tension.

For many years, Hjertén’s artistic achievements were overshadowed by those of her husband. It was not until the 1980s that her work began to receive serious recognition on its own merits. Today, several of her paintings from the late 1910s and early 1920s are held by museums and other institutions, making the work offered at The Modern Art Sale particularly noteworthy.

Badscen (Badstranden och skuggan) has remained in the same private collection since it was last sold in 1994.

“This is a rare opportunity to acquire an important painting in which Sigrid Hjertén fully asserts her own artistic voice. It is a work that truly deserves a prominent place in a major art collection,” says Andreas Rydén, Head Specialist at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

The international live auction The Modern Art Sale takes place on 18 November at Stockholms Auktionsverk, Nybrogatan 32, Stockholm. The auction will also be streamed live, reaching international audiences around the world.

The catalogue will be published on 4 November.