Lot 215: LEANDER ENGSTRÖM

LEANDER ENGSTRÖM SWEDISH 1886-1927 TRÄDGÅRDSMÄSTARE VID FRUKTODLING (ORCHARD WITH WORKERS AND MOUNTAINS) signed Leander Engstrom lower left oil on board 61 by 49.3cm., 24 by 19½in.

Acquired by the parents of the present owners in the 1970s

Engström was born in Ytterhogdal, and studied under Richard Bergh, Nils Kreuger and Karl Nordström in Sweden, after which he moved to Paris to study under Matisse for a year in 1909. Following Matisse's tutelage Engström founded the artists' collective 'The Young', together with other artists such as Isaac Grünewald and Tor Bjurström, creating works distinctive for their simplified forms and strengthened compositional structures. While deeply influenced by Cézanne and the Italian Primitives following trips to France and Italy, the Scandinavian landscape and townscape would remain his favourite subjects.