Bruno Liljefors

Liljefors has executed three similar studies of seagulls of the same size, all of which were part of his estate. In addition to the auctions painting, an oil painting was sold at Stockholms Auktionsverk on October 11, 2016, no. 420224 (fig. 2), and a painting sold at Stockholms Auktionsverk on January 3, 2021, no. 861247 (fig. 3).
The paintings, executed around 1907, provide a fascinating insight into Liljefors' working method. Liljefors has carefully studied the wing positions of the flying seagulls from the front, below, and from the side. By depicting them against a cloudy sky, the focus is on the wing positions of the seagulls, while the neutral sky creates a connection between the three paintings.