Welcome to The Auction Report – your insider guide to the auction world. Get behind-the-scenes access, expert tips on current auctions, and the chance to discover the big names of the future. |
Welcome to The Auction Report – your insider guide to the auction world. Get behind-the-scenes access, expert tips on current auctions, and discover the big names of the future. |
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Current auctions not to miss according to our experts. |
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STAFFAN HALLSTRÖM
Estimate: 20 000 SEK |
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NICLAS KORP
Estimate: 20 000 SEK
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G Plan marketed their products as ‘designed to please’ and ‘built to last.’ They were telling the truth. If you were clearing a house two decades ago their mid 20th century furniture was considered unfashionable and it would have probably been suggested to throw them on a bonfire! However, in recent years many of their pieces have been recognised as classics, in particular the Scandinavian influenced Fresco range designed by Victor Bramwell Wilkins. The occasional tables are always in demand at auction, being accessible to many because of their small size and affordable prices.
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- Kayleigh Davies, toy expert and on-screen valuer |
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CABINET
Estimate: 15 000 SEK |
| ROLF HANSON
Estimate: 50 000–60 000 SEK
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Soapstone is a soft and easily worked rock that has been used for both decorative arts and everyday objects across various countries and cultures for centuries. However, I don't think I've ever seen a Swedish Art Nouveau piece in soapstone before! Now, Auktionshuset Kolonn is offering a small but fascinating collection by the, to me, newly discovered artist Knut Andersson. He clearly had a fondness for working with soapstone, and among the pieces is this remarkable vase dated 1919. However, it’s not for those with arachnophobia—most of the vase is adorned with spiders and intricate webs!
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- David Brolin, Star Wars enthusiast and antiques specialist |
| KNUT ANDERSSON
Estimate: 3 000 SEK
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STOOL, LUBA/HEMBA
Estimate: 100 GBP |
| GUNNAR EKLÖF
Estimate: 10 000–12 000 SEK |
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A Deep Dive with Andreas Siesing |
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4072627. AXEL FAHLCRANTZ (1851-1925). “The Pine”, oil on canvas. |
Fashion seems to influence everything—even trees. Over a century ago, pine trees were in vogue. Swedish artists and artisans had embraced new ideas and began seeing nature with fresh eyes. Style history had stagnated in the late 19th century, endlessly recycling past ornamentation to adorn walnut furniture, school buildings, and railway stations.
The break from this cycle came with Art Nouveau, which drew inspiration from English movements rooted in medieval craftsmanship. Nature became a wellspring of inspiration, while a strong wave of national romanticism swept across Europe. From these elements, Swedish artisans crafted a fresh aesthetic, infused with local flowers, plants—and pine trees. The pine, in particular, was seen as masculine, rugged, and resilient.
Meanwhile, painters adapted to the magic of photography, shifting from realism to impressionism, before some evolved into Pre-Raphaelites, symbolists, or even fully-fledged modernists. Others stood firm, convinced that art—like everything else—was better in the past. Regardless, by the early 1900s, many painters, intoxicated by contemporary artistic trends, took their easels to the coast to paint pines. One of them was Axel Fahlcrantz. |
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The son of a bishop, but with two artist uncles, Fahlcrantz studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm during the 1870s. He is best remembered as a landscape painter, with a particular talent for capturing clouds. And while I personally adore clouds, this text is about pines in art—trees that, over the years, have been unfairly dismissed, perhaps because too many enthusiastic amateurs have tackled them with mixed results. If I can be a proud ambassador for pine trees in art for just a week, I’ll gladly take on that role. So, to all of you who cherish the turn of the last century: Hang a pine on your wall—they come in all price ranges!
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- Andreas Siesing, author, design lover and expert at Auctionet
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A Deep Dive
with Andreas Siesing |
4072627. AXEL FAHLCRANTZ (1851-1925). “The Pine”, oil on canvas. |
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Fashion seems to influence everything—even trees. Over a century ago, pine trees were in vogue. Swedish artists and artisans had embraced new ideas and began seeing nature with fresh eyes. Style history had stagnated in the late 19th century, endlessly recycling past ornamentation to adorn walnut furniture, school buildings, and railway stations. The break from this cycle came with Art Nouveau, which drew inspiration from English movements rooted in medieval craftsmanship. Nature became a wellspring of inspiration, while a strong wave of national romanticism swept across Europe. From these elements, Swedish artisans crafted a fresh aesthetic, infused with local flowers, plants—and pine trees. The pine, in particular, was seen as masculine, rugged, and resilient.
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Meanwhile, painters adapted to the magic of photography, shifting from realism to impressionism, before some evolved into Pre-Raphaelites, symbolists, or even fully-fledged modernists. Others stood firm, convinced that art—like everything else—was better in the past. Regardless, by the early 1900s, many painters, intoxicated by contemporary artistic trends, took their easels to the coast to paint pines. One of them was Axel Fahlcrantz.
The son of a bishop, but with two artist uncles, Fahlcrantz studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm during the 1870s. He is best remembered as a landscape painter, with a particular talent for capturing clouds. And while I personally adore clouds, this text is about pines in art—trees that, over the years, have been unfairly dismissed, perhaps because too many enthusiastic amateurs have tackled them with mixed results. If I can be a proud ambassador for pine trees in art for just a week, I’ll gladly take on that role. So, to all of you who cherish the turn of the last century: Hang a pine on your wall—they come in all price ranges!
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- Andreas Siesing, author and specialist at Auctionet
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Happy Bidding! Best wishes,
Auctionet's experts
Andreas Siesing, Tom Österman, Kayleigh Davies and David Brolin. |
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Happy Bidding! Best wishes,
Andreas Siesing, Tom Österman, Kayleigh Davies and David Brolin. |
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