Olle Nyman lived and worked at Duvnäs gård, where his studio is now a museum devoted to his artistic oeuvre, located along the Strandpromenaden in Saltsjö-Duvnäs. The estate was purchased in 1863 by his maternal grandfather, managing director of Gustafsbergs Fabriker. The estate gave its name to the Saltsjö-Duvnäs group, also known as the Saltsjö-Duvnäs circle, which comprised artists who spent time socialising and working here, including Evert Lundquist, Sixten Lundbohm, Roland Kempe and Staffan Hallström.

Nyman studied at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1928 to 1934 under Olle Hjortzberg. He sought to create an interplay between art and architecture. In still lifes, landscapes, portraits and figure compositions, he constructed works that were often Cubist in character, using purist, muted and earthy colours. His first solo exhibition, held in 1946, was a great success and established his strong position in the art world. His paintings have been favourably compared with those of major French painters of the same period, such as Émile Bernard. In 1953, Nyman was appointed Professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he later also became a member. From 1953 to 1963, he was Professor of Monumental Painting at the University College of Arts.

Even more beloved than his paintings are his so-called “scrap sculptures”, made, among other materials, from stone. The sculpture Mexikanskan offered at auction is an excellent example of Olle Nyman at his best as a sculptor.

Nyman created numerous monumental works in a variety of materials and techniques. These include ceiling paintings for Olaus Petri Church in Stockholm and the scrap sculpture “Sankt Göran, Draken och Prinsessan” for the postal terminal in Tomteboda. He also created wall paintings for Karolinska Hospital in Solna and Tuppstugan in Nacka, as well as tapestries, in collaboration with Barbro Nilsson, for Borås Town Hall, banks and the Ministry of Finance, among others. In addition, he made a wall mosaic in natural stone for Södertälje Crematorium, “Idealiserad park” in ceramic for Järnvägsparken in Stockholm, and “Stenkvinna”, made of granite blocks and concrete, for Kista Torg in Stockholm.

“I want to maintain a living connection with tradition,” he said of his work. Drawing on Cubism and Purism, Olle Nyman created figure compositions, landscapes with house gables and, above all, his scrap sculptures, through which he forged a wholly distinctive artistic expression.