Sunlit Cart

A lively mid-century modernist style landscape 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.

At the heart of the composition lies a wooden cart with large wheels casting cool blue shadows across a warm orange path. Behind it, simplified forms of houses – painted in muted orange, coral red, and powder blue – sit neatly among rounded green trees and trimmed hedgerows.

The artist has used a flattened perspective and geometric abstraction, reducing the scene to bold shapes and colour fields. The palette is both playful and restrained;  the shadows and structures are stylised, offering just enough detail to ground the viewer in a familiar rural setting, while leaving space for interpretation.