Gustav Vermehren, Study Of A Girl Knitting

Gustav Vermehren, Study Of A Girl Knitting

A beautiful early 20th-century study of a demure young lady knitting by Danish artist, Gustav Vermehren (1863-1931). She’s lost in a world of her own and transfixed by the task at hand.

Vermehren was born into a creative family and destined to become an artist. His father, Frederik (1823-1910) was an accomplished painter - well admired for his idealised rural scenes that romanticised the working classes. As a child, Gustav would’ve been taught to draw by his father which surely provided the catalyst for his formal education.

It’s interesting to note that throughout his career he stayed true to his father’s style. When confronted with the new freer approach of the French impressionists, he rejected it despite frequent accusations of being old fashioned.

As you can imagine, during the later part of the 19th-century, it became fashionable to adopt a looser brushstroke and flood your canvases with light. Yet Gustav, along with his brother Sophus (1866-1950), remained steadfast to their father’s ideals.

The painting is signed/dated in the lower right and housed within a frame that’s possibly the original.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 19½” x 26” / 50cm x 66cm
Year of creation: 1922
Provenance: Denmark
Condition: Very presentable. A few light scratches and a small pinhole in the top right but otherwise fine. Frame with some age-related wear.
Artist’s auction highlight: £10,900 achieved for ‘Distracted’ (52cm x 74cm) at Christie’s in 1990.

Conservation & History

We care profoundly about our role as custodians and every piece in the collection has been assessed by our conservator. When required, we undertake professional restoration carefully using reversible techniques and adopt a light touch to retain the aged charm of each work. We also often restore frames rather than replace them as many are original and selected by the artists themselves.

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