Lot 10: HELENE SCHJERFBECK | Girl with Blonde Hair

oil on canvas

56.5 by 44.5cm., 22½ by 17½in.

oil on canvas

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU: Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. This is providing an even and stable structural support. The canvas does not have any undulations or distortions as is often common when a canvas has been painted on both sides. The canvas appears to have been put on a slightly larger stretcher as there are old tack holes running intermittently along the left vertical and upper horizontal framing edges. These have been filled with a toned gesso. Paint Surface Recto: The paint surface has the artist's original unvarnished appearance. The paint surface appears entirely stable. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows small spots of fluorescence corresponding to the old tack holes which have been filled with toned gesso. There are also a few small spots of fluorescence to the right of the sitter's nose. These appear attributable to the artist's materials and techniques. Verso: The painting appears unvarnished and is entirely stable. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and no work is required.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Stockholm, Liljevalchs konsthall, Finsk konst, 1916, no. 307 (as Flicka med utslaget hår)
Helsinki, Art House, Helena Schjerfbeck Memorial Exhibition, 1980

H. Ahtela (Einar Reuter), Helene Schjerfbeck, Stockholm, 1953, p. 362. no. 434, catalogued (as Flicka med blont hår, incorrectly dated 1915)
Helene Schjerfbeck: Finland's Modernist Revisited, exh. cat., Helsinki, 1992, p. 183, no. 256, catalogued & illustrated; p. 315, cited
Lea Bergström & Sue Cedercreutz-Suhonen, Helene Schjerfbeck: Models, Helsinki, 2003, pp. 62-63, cited
Helene Schjerfbeck 150 Years, exh. cat., Helsinki, 2012, p. 211, no. 368, catalogued & illustrated

Uno Donner, Stockholm (purchased from the artist at the 1916 exhibition. Donner, 1872-1958, was a Finnish engineer living in Stockholm, whose brother Ossian had founded the United Woollen Mills factory in Hyvinkää)
Private collection