A life devoted to art – a private collection of modern Swedish and international art

Bukowskis is pleased to present A Life Devoted to Art – a private collection of modern Swedish and international art, a unique collection now being shown at auction for the first time.

Behind the collection is a couple whose shared life was marked by a deep and lifelong love of art. The husband painted and drew himself in his youth, and the interest followed him throughout his life. Their passion for art developed early and, over time, came to shape both their home and their shared life’s work. Over several decades, they built together a significant and highly personal collection of works by some of the 20th century’s most prominent artists – both Swedish and international. The collection was so extensive that the couple occasionally had to rotate the artworks on the walls of their home.

The collecting began in the 1960s, a time when the couple, with great curiosity and knowledge, started acquiring works by artists such as Lucio Fontana and Roberto Matta. Over the years, they also had the opportunity to meet several of the artists whose works they collected, including Karel Appel and Bengt Lindström, whom they visited in Paris. These encounters came to have a profound influence on their continued collecting. Read more