A charming mid-century modern still life that presents an arrangement of flowers in a vase, resting among neatly stacked books, executed in oil onto canvas onto board and dated 1968.

A single crimson tulip and delicate yellow blooms provide a lively focal point, while the surrounding books introduce a quiet narrative of contemplation and everyday domestic life. The composition feels intimate and unpretentious, celebrating the beauty found in ordinary objects.

Executed in a distinctly modernist manner, the painting embraces simplified forms and an intentionally loose composition. Rather than striving for realism, the artist captures atmosphere through expressive colour relationships and confident abstraction, allowing the objects to emerge through suggestion rather than precise definition.

The palette is wonderfully restrained, combining dusty blush pinks, muted sage and blue-greens, soft slate blues, warm creams and touches of earthy browns. These harmonious colours are punctuated by the rich red of the tulip, which enlivens the composition without overwhelming its tranquil mood.

Thick, impasto brushstrokes animate the surface, with generous applications of paint creating a richly textured finish. Broad palette-knife-like passages and visible directional strokes lend the work an appealing tactile quality, while areas of exposed canvas and layered paint reinforce its spontaneous, painterly character.

This oil on canvas board is presented in an elegant wood frame with an inner white border. Both the painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition. 

Size: 51 x 41 cm (including frame)

A lively and expressive mid-century still life that captures a vibrant table scene where fruit, bottles, and books converge in a symphony of colour and texture, executed in oil onto board.

A blue tablecloth stretches across the foreground, holding a scattering of apples, oranges, and a lemon alongside two dark bottles and a pair of books rendered in bold red and black. The scene glows against a luminous yellow backdrop, infusing the composition with a sense of warmth and vitality.

The artist’s palette is bold and confident: sunny yellows, blues, deep blacks, and accents of warm orange and crimson create a dynamic interplay that brings life to the static composition. The brushwork is expressive and heavily impastoed, with thick, deliberate strokes that lend a tactile energy to the painting. The use of contrasting colours and broad application of paint give the piece a sense of rhythm and immediacy characteristic of mid-century modernist expression.

The painting balances structure and spontaneity beautifully – each object is simplified yet full of presence, and the scene hums with quiet intensity. A wonderful example of post-war European still-life painting, celebrating the everyday through bold colour and painterly confidence.

This oil on board is presented in a complementary gilt frame with red undertones, and an inner white border The painting is in excellent vintage condition, and the frame has scuffing.

Size: 56 x 72.5 cm (including frame)

A vibrant mid-century modernist still life oil painting by Swedish artist Eric Elfvén (1921–2008), whose works have been exhibited in public collections including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Jönköping Museum, Borås Art Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The composition captures a loose arrangement of white roses placed across a richly coloured tabletop and echoed in a tall cobalt-blue jug. The layered planes of colour – suggesting a tablecloth, interior wall, and surface – form a structured yet playful setting. The roses feel freshly placed, lending the scene an air of immediacy and intimacy.

The painting is executed in a bold modernist style, characterised by flattened perspective and simplified, almost abstracted forms. Rather than striving for realism, the artist emphasises composition and colour relationships. A vivid palette dominates: saturated reds and oranges energise the foreground, contrasted with deep greens, cool blues, and teal tones. The white roses, tinged with warm yellows, act as luminous focal points, softening the intensity of the surrounding colours.

Brushwork is confident and expressive. The roses are rendered with dynamic and painterly strokes, giving their petals a tactile quality. In contrast, the surrounding surfaces are built up with broader, flatter applications of paint, creating a balance between texture and structure. Edges remain intentionally loose, reinforcing the painting’s spontaneous, lively character.

This oil on canvas is housed complementary slim wood frame. The painting is in excellent vintage condition, and the frame has some scuffs present. 

Size: 49 x 63 cm (including frame)