Extract from Lillemor Derr, “Olle Olsson Hagalund, on the artist and his environment”, 2004:

Sometime before the creation of På Lyx-Norma, Olle Olsson was invited in 1936 to accompany a cargo ship to, among other places, Gdynia. The experiences left their mark.

Smoke billows as the cranes perform their macabre dance. A fascination with constructions of all kinds can be sensed throughout Olle Olsson’s oeuvre. He also depicted lettering wherever in the world he happened to be and whenever the opportunity arose. Despite the cropping, we can interpret the text, just as on the later Viking Line logo!

Olle had the opportunity to observe life in genuine sailors’ taverns, in cellars with beaten-earth floors beyond the reach of tourists. Here, he encountered sailors from every corner of the world and, at times, lightly dressed, heavily made-up women. He observed and recorded these environments in his memory, later giving them form once they had had time to mature. As he put it: “some paintings from harbour taverns where hungry sailors enjoyed a dubious happiness”.

The auction includes a work by Olle Olsson Hagalund that displays all the qualities that have made him recognised and loved as one of Sweden’s foremost naïve artists. In this painting, the artist further developed motifs from harbours and cargo quays, depicting ships moored at the quayside on a summer’s day. The vessel in the foreground appears to be preparing to cast off, as couples bid farewell all around it and a man can be seen waving to someone ashore from the rail. The image is rich in detail – the expectant faces gazing out through the ship’s rounded windows, the locomotive slowly rolling onto the railway tracks, the man glimpsed from the side, and the smoke billowing from a funnel. The scene is teeming with sound and movement, while vivid colours alternate in red, yellow, green and black.

The years 1937–1942 became a decisive period in Olle Olsson Hagalund’s artistic career. Through well-received exhibitions at Konstakademien and Färg och Form in Stockholm, he established himself as an appreciated artist. His paintings continue to fascinate collectors and art lovers, and remain highly sought-after on the auction market. Through his distinctive expression, warmth and popular charm, his work has secured a natural place in Swedish art history.