Harvest Under the Canopy

A rich and striking striking mid-century modernist figurative landscape composition, painted in oil and gouache by the established Swedish female artist Brita Hansson (1918-1979).

A group of figures is gathered beneath a grove of robust, twisting trees – likely harvesters at rest or mid-task, surrounded by produce and market crates. The scene hums with life, captured in abstracted yet recognisable forms. Deep blues, earthy reds, browns, and forest greens dominate the palette, contrasted with striking patches of orange and golden yellow that suggest dappled sunlight filtering through foliage.

Painted in a bold, modernist style, the figures and environment are rendered with broad, expressive brushstrokes and geometric abstraction. The trees form powerful vertical rhythms while the figures, draped in rich fabrics, add weight and grounded intimacy to the scene. The brushwork is confident and gestural, emphasising mass and movement rather than realistic detail – imbuing the painting with a sense of warmth.