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Lot Essay
HELENE SCHJERFBECK WAS ONE OF THE GREAT PAINTERS OF SCANDINAVIA AND YET HER WORK IS STILL RELATIVELY UNKNOWN ON THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET.
A CHILD PRODIGY, HELENE SCHJERFBECK STUDIED AT THE FINNISH ART SOCIETY UNDER ADOLPH VON BECKER WHO ACQUAINTED HIS PUPILS WITH THE WORKING METHODS OF THE PARISIAN STUDIOS AND WITH FRENCH REALISM. THUS INSPIRED, SCHJERFBECK WON A SCHOLARSHIP TO PARIS IN 1880, AND STUDIED IN THE STUDIOS OF MME. TRéLAT AND COLAROSSI WHERE LéON BONNAT, JEAN-LéON GéRôME AND GUSTAVE COURTOIS AMONGST OTHERS, TAUGHT ON A REGULAR BASIS. WITH HER FELLOW ARTIST MARIE WIIK SHE VISITED BRITTANY IN 1881, PONT-AVEN IN 1883-84 AND, IN 1887-89, ST. IVES. AT ALL TIMES SHE ABSORBED THE WORKS OF OTHER ARTISTS SUCH AS DAUMIER, PUVIS DE CHAVANNES, MILLET, BRETON AND BASTIEN-LEPAGE AND MANY OF HER WORKS FROM THE 1880S REFLECT THIS (SUCH AS FUNERAL IN BRITTANY, 1884).
HELENE SCHJERFBECK REFERS TO THE YEARS 1910-11 AS THE WATERSHED BETWEEN HER OLD AND NEW STYLES. SALME SARAJAS-KORTE STATES 'IT SEEMS INEVITABLE THAT SCHJERFBECK'S MODERNISM WAS ANCHORED IN THE FRENCH ART OF THE 1880S - IN THE WORK OF MANET, CéZANNE AND VAN GOGH, WHOSE IMPACT PERHAPS NOT EVEN SCHJERFBECK ACKNOWLEDGED UNTIL MUCH LATER ON' (HELENE SCHJERFBECK, EXH. CAT., FINNISH NATIONAL GALLERY ATENEUM, 1992, P. 27).
MANET WAS HELD IN HIGH REGARD AMONG NORDIC ARTISTS, HAVING WON A MEDAL IN THE 1882 PARIS SALON, RANKING HIGHER THAN EDELFELT WHOSE PAINTING CHURCH SERVICE IN UUSIMAA ARCHIPELAGO WAS CONSIDERED THE PRIDE OF FINNISH ART.
HELENE SCHJERFBECK 'CREATED HER OWN MODERNIST STYLE AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY BY ADOPTING THE WIDESPREAD STYLISTIC PRACTICES OF THE 1890S, YET SCHJERFBECK'S NEW STYLE WAS ALSO FIRMLY ROOTED IN HER PARISIAN EXPERIENCES OF THE 1880S. LATER IN LIFE, SCHJERFBECK WOULD REVEAL HER LONGING FOR THE PARIS OF HER YOUTH, FOR THE TIME WHEN ALL SHE EVER WANTED TO DO WAS 'LOOK AND LOOK'. SHE SAW IT ALL WITH HER OWN EYES, AND TOOK ON EVERYTHING TO WHICH SHE RESPONDED INTUITIVELY, NEVER ADOPTING CONVENTIONS, COMPOSITIONS OR NORMS. PERHAPS THIS IS PRECISELY WHY SCHJERFBECK TURNED HER BACK ON MAINSTREAM FINNISH ART IN FAVOUR OF A LIFE AS A RECLUSE.' (S. SARAJAS-KORTE, LOC. CIT., P. 32.)
IN 1902 SHE RETREATED TO HYVINKää, OUTSIDE HELSINKI, WHERE SHE LIVED IN A SMALL APARTMENT WITH HER MOTHER. IT WAS DURING THIS PERIOD, ACCORDING TO LENA HOLGER, THAT SCHJERFBECK 'BEGAN SLOWLY, WITH A TENTATIVE, EXPERIMENTAL PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT FROM 1902-12, WHICH CAME TO FRUITION IN THE LATE 1910S'. DURING THIS PERIOD HELENE SCHJERFBECK CONCENTRATED ON A SERIES OF PAINTINGS OF LOCAL WOMEN, SUCH AS WOMAN SEWING (1905), GIRL READING (1907) AND MY MOTHER (1909) AND PORTRAITS OF CHILDREN. THE SERIES OF WOMEN AT WORK HAS OFTEN BEEN COMPARED WITH THE WORK OF WHISTLER AND HAMMERSHøI.
THE SITTERS FOR SISTERS WERE MARTA AND KATRI SAHRMAN WHOSE BROTHER EINAR WAS THE MODEL FOR ONE OF SCHJERFBECK'S MOST IMPORTANT WORKS, THE WOODCUTTER. THE FAMILY STILL LIVE IN HYVINKää. AHTELA RECORDS, 'WHEN MARTA SAHRMAN ENTERS THE ROOM, IT IS AS IF SUNSHINE HAD FILLED IT. THE SAHRMAN SISTERS AND BROTHER, WHAT JOY THEY BRING! MARTA, WHO IS 14 NOW, HAS THE SAME SUNNY CHARACTER AS HER MOTHER ... MARTA'S LITTLE SISTER KATRI ALSO COMES TO VISIT. SHE HAS GROWN A LOT SINCE SISTERS WAS PAINTED FOUR YEARS AGO. AGAIN SHE IS TOUCHED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE HEADS OF THE TWO GIRLS CLOSE TOGETHER OVER A BOOK, AND SHE PAINTS A GOUACHE OF THEM ... LITTLE KATRI COMES TO HER AND GETS A MARK AN HOUR FOR LOOKING LIKE A GOD'S ANGEL, LIKE A BREEZE ... THE MODEL (KATRI) IS SO ETHEREAL, MOVES OFTEN, GIVES SOMETHING NEW EVERY MINUTE. HELENE WATCHES AND WATCHES WISHING SHE COULD START ON A NEW CANVAS ALL THE TIME.' (HELENE SCHJERFBECK, HELSINKI, 1953, PP. 123 AND 139).
THESE PORTRAITS ARE A RECURRING THEME IN SCHJERFBECK'S WORK AND SHOW A DEEP SENSITIVITY FOR SUBTLE FEMININE EMOTIONS.
'THE EVER-INNOVATIVE SCHJERFBECK SHOWED THAT A CREATIVE SPIRIT IS NEVER SPENT AND KNOWS NO BOUNDS ... SHE HAD THE COURAGE TO PAINT SUBJECTS THAT WERE ALMOST UNBEARABLY POIGNANT OR 'EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL' ... THESE TWO EXTREMES COINCIDE IN SOME OF THE CHILD PORTRAITS SCHJERFBECK PAINTED IN 1910-20, SUCH AS SISTERS, THE PICTURE BOOK AND THE FAMILY HEIRLOOM ...' (SOILI SINISALO, DIRECTOR, ATENEUM, HELSINKI, HELENE SCHJERFBECK - FINLAND'S MODERNIST REDISCOVERED, 1992).
THIS, THE SECOND VERSION OF SISTERS, WAS PAINTED IN 1913. TWO OTHER VERSIONS ARE RECORDED, SISTERS III (PRIVATE COLLECTION, PARIS) AND A MUCH LATER VERSION OF 1945 WHICH WAS ALSO PAINTED FOR GöSTA STENMAN. THE PRESENT EARLY VERSION WAS PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM SCHJERFBECK BY STENMAN IN 1913 WHO IN TURN SOLD THE PICTURE TO THE REUTER FAMILY WHERE IT HAS REMAINED EVER SINCE. THE FIRST OF THE REUTERS TO OWN THE PAINTING, EINAR, WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF SCHJERFBECK AND LATER BECAME HER BIOGRAPHER.
STENMAN, TOO, HAD A HUGE INFLUENCE ON SCHJERFBECK WHOM HE MET FOR THE FIRST TIME THE YEAR THE PRESENT PICTURE WAS PAINTED. AHTELA DISCUSSES THEIR FIRST CELEBRATED MEETING: 'AFTER THE TRAIN FOR ÖSTERBOTTEN RUMBLED PAST ON A DAY IN 1913, HELENE SETS HER EYES ON A YOUNG MAN IN THE GARDEN. SHE SAYS TO HERSELF THAT HE MUST HAVE TAKEN A WRONG TURN, BUT THEN HE, ALREADY ON HELENE'S PORCH, ENTERS THE HOUSE ... HE IS VERY YOUNG, HIS FACE SEEMS FRANKLY CHILDISH. HE INTRODUCES HIMSELF AS 'EDITOR STENMAN', ADDING THAT HE HAS COME TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE ARTIST'S WORKS, SINCE HE IS INTERESTED IN BUYING SOME ... SHE IS STUNNED, AS IT CANNOT BE TRUE. SHE SAYS THERE MUST BE SOME MISTAKE AND THAT THE VISITOR CANNOT MEAN HER ... HOWEVER, THE YOUNG MAN PERSISTS IN HIS HAVING MET THE RIGHT PERSON, AND THAT HE WANTS TO SEE THE WORKS SHE HAS AT HOME AND BUY SOME ... "YOU ARE SO YOUNG", SAYS HELENE. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO BANKRUPT FOR MY SAKE" ... BUT STENMAN DOESN'T GIVE UP, AND SO HELENE SHOWS HIM SOME OF HER OLD PAINTINGS. EVENTUALLY SHE PRESENTS QUITE A FEW, SINCE NOBODY HAS BEEN INTERESTED IN HER WORKS BEFORE. THAT IS THE WOODCUTTER, A SKETCH TO ONE OF THE FIGURES IN GIRLS READING, THE FIRST VERSION OF COSTUME PICTURE AND SOME SMALLER SKETCHES ... EVENTUALLY HELENE HESITATINGLY SHOWS A PAINTING WHICH STANDS BY THE WALL. THIS IS SISTERS. SHE IS SURPRISED BY HER BOLDNESS, IT IS NOT A PAINTING ONE CAN SHOW PEOPLE ... STENMAN LOOKS AT THE PAINTINGS. HE SAYS NOTHING, HIS EYES MOVING FROM ONE PICTURE TO ANOTHER. MAYBE HE IS STARTING TO DOUBT, HELENE SPECULATES ... THE YOUNG STRANGER POINTS AT THE WOODCUTTER AND ASKS: "HOW MUCH IS THAT ONE?" ... AND AFTER HEARING THE PRICE HE SAYS, "IF ONLY MISS DOESN'T REGRET IT AFTERWARDS" ... THE SAME PROCEDURE FOLLOWS WITH EVERY PAINTING. STENMAN POINTS OUT TO HELENE THAT HE IS AN ART DEALER AND IS ACTING AS ONE IN BUYING THE PAINTINGS ... WHEN HE FINALLY ASKS ABOUT THE PRICE FOR SISTERS SHE IS SPEECHLESS. THE OTHER ONES CAN PERHAPS BE DISCUSSED IF MR STENMAN WISHES, BUT SISTERS SHE CANNOT DISCUSS. SHE INTENDS TO KEEP IT TO HERSELF ... "I HAVE TO HAVE THEM ALL", SAYS STENMAN, "AND ESPECIALLY THAT ONE (SISTERS) MUST ABSOLUTELY BE INCLUDED."' (H. AHTELA, OP. CIT., P. 101).
IN TURN, TWO YEARS LATER REUTER INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO SCHJERFBECK: 'A KNOCK ON THE DOOR, AND IN WALKS A MAN IN HIS THIRTIES PERHAPS. HE IS BEHAVING VERY UNPRETENTIOUSLY, HELENE NOTES. HE TELLS HER HE BOUGHT TWO OF HER PAINTINGS TWO YEARS BEFORE AT STENMAN'S EXHIBITION, THE WOODCUTTER AND SISTERS, AND THAT HE, IN ADDITION TO THAT, OWNED A COUPLE MORE WORKS BY HER AND NOW WANTED TO MEET THEIR CREATOR ... THIS DAY SHE REMEMBERS FOREVER. HOURS PASSED. THEY ONLY TALKED ABOUT ART, ABOUT GAUGUIN IN PRIVATE GALLERIES IN PARIS, THE HAGUE AND MOSCOW, ABOUT MODERN PAINTERS ... THEY HAD COFFEE WITH HELENE'S MOTHER.'
STENMAN'S AND REUTER'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ARTIST GREW AND, BY 1917, THEY ORGANISED HER FIRST AND ONLY SOLO EXHIBITION AT STENMAN'S GALLERY IN HELSINKI.
IT WAS STENMAN WHO, SOME TIME AFTER 1925, SUGGESTED THAT SCHJERFBECK SHOULD RE-INTERPRET HER MORE IMPORTANT PICTURES. NOT ONLY DID THIS BRING FINANCIAL SECURITY BUT IT ALSO GAVE HELENE SCHJERFBECK ARTISTIC SATISFACTION; PERFECTING HER MODERN STYLE OF MINIMALISM AND CONDENSED SIMPLIFICATION.
IN 1938 SHE WAS UNDER CONTRACT TO STENMAN AND, FOR A MONTHLY SUM, EVERYTHING SHE PAINTED WOULD GO TO THE STENMAN GALLERY. THE 1945 VERSION (ILLUSTRATED) IS STILL IN THE STENMAN COLLECTION.
THE PRESENT WORK AND THE GIRL WITH BLUE RIBBON (LOT 40) BELONGED TO EINAR REUTER (1881-1968) WHO WROTE TWO BIOGRAPHIES ON HELENE SCHJERFBECK IN THE 1950S UNDER THE PSEUDONYM H. AHTELA. REUTER, A STATE FORESTER, WRITER AND ARTIST, FIRST VISITED SCHJERFBECK IN HYVINKää IN 1915. THEIR RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPED INTO A LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP AND, AS AN ARDENT ADMIRER OF HER WORK, HE WAS ABLE TO ACQUIRE SOME OF HER MOST IMPORTANT PICTURES.
A CHILD PRODIGY, HELENE SCHJERFBECK STUDIED AT THE FINNISH ART SOCIETY UNDER ADOLPH VON BECKER WHO ACQUAINTED HIS PUPILS WITH THE WORKING METHODS OF THE PARISIAN STUDIOS AND WITH FRENCH REALISM. THUS INSPIRED, SCHJERFBECK WON A SCHOLARSHIP TO PARIS IN 1880, AND STUDIED IN THE STUDIOS OF MME. TRéLAT AND COLAROSSI WHERE LéON BONNAT, JEAN-LéON GéRôME AND GUSTAVE COURTOIS AMONGST OTHERS, TAUGHT ON A REGULAR BASIS. WITH HER FELLOW ARTIST MARIE WIIK SHE VISITED BRITTANY IN 1881, PONT-AVEN IN 1883-84 AND, IN 1887-89, ST. IVES. AT ALL TIMES SHE ABSORBED THE WORKS OF OTHER ARTISTS SUCH AS DAUMIER, PUVIS DE CHAVANNES, MILLET, BRETON AND BASTIEN-LEPAGE AND MANY OF HER WORKS FROM THE 1880S REFLECT THIS (SUCH AS FUNERAL IN BRITTANY, 1884).
HELENE SCHJERFBECK REFERS TO THE YEARS 1910-11 AS THE WATERSHED BETWEEN HER OLD AND NEW STYLES. SALME SARAJAS-KORTE STATES 'IT SEEMS INEVITABLE THAT SCHJERFBECK'S MODERNISM WAS ANCHORED IN THE FRENCH ART OF THE 1880S - IN THE WORK OF MANET, CéZANNE AND VAN GOGH, WHOSE IMPACT PERHAPS NOT EVEN SCHJERFBECK ACKNOWLEDGED UNTIL MUCH LATER ON' (HELENE SCHJERFBECK, EXH. CAT., FINNISH NATIONAL GALLERY ATENEUM, 1992, P. 27).
MANET WAS HELD IN HIGH REGARD AMONG NORDIC ARTISTS, HAVING WON A MEDAL IN THE 1882 PARIS SALON, RANKING HIGHER THAN EDELFELT WHOSE PAINTING CHURCH SERVICE IN UUSIMAA ARCHIPELAGO WAS CONSIDERED THE PRIDE OF FINNISH ART.
HELENE SCHJERFBECK 'CREATED HER OWN MODERNIST STYLE AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY BY ADOPTING THE WIDESPREAD STYLISTIC PRACTICES OF THE 1890S, YET SCHJERFBECK'S NEW STYLE WAS ALSO FIRMLY ROOTED IN HER PARISIAN EXPERIENCES OF THE 1880S. LATER IN LIFE, SCHJERFBECK WOULD REVEAL HER LONGING FOR THE PARIS OF HER YOUTH, FOR THE TIME WHEN ALL SHE EVER WANTED TO DO WAS 'LOOK AND LOOK'. SHE SAW IT ALL WITH HER OWN EYES, AND TOOK ON EVERYTHING TO WHICH SHE RESPONDED INTUITIVELY, NEVER ADOPTING CONVENTIONS, COMPOSITIONS OR NORMS. PERHAPS THIS IS PRECISELY WHY SCHJERFBECK TURNED HER BACK ON MAINSTREAM FINNISH ART IN FAVOUR OF A LIFE AS A RECLUSE.' (S. SARAJAS-KORTE, LOC. CIT., P. 32.)
IN 1902 SHE RETREATED TO HYVINKää, OUTSIDE HELSINKI, WHERE SHE LIVED IN A SMALL APARTMENT WITH HER MOTHER. IT WAS DURING THIS PERIOD, ACCORDING TO LENA HOLGER, THAT SCHJERFBECK 'BEGAN SLOWLY, WITH A TENTATIVE, EXPERIMENTAL PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT FROM 1902-12, WHICH CAME TO FRUITION IN THE LATE 1910S'. DURING THIS PERIOD HELENE SCHJERFBECK CONCENTRATED ON A SERIES OF PAINTINGS OF LOCAL WOMEN, SUCH AS WOMAN SEWING (1905), GIRL READING (1907) AND MY MOTHER (1909) AND PORTRAITS OF CHILDREN. THE SERIES OF WOMEN AT WORK HAS OFTEN BEEN COMPARED WITH THE WORK OF WHISTLER AND HAMMERSHøI.
THE SITTERS FOR SISTERS WERE MARTA AND KATRI SAHRMAN WHOSE BROTHER EINAR WAS THE MODEL FOR ONE OF SCHJERFBECK'S MOST IMPORTANT WORKS, THE WOODCUTTER. THE FAMILY STILL LIVE IN HYVINKää. AHTELA RECORDS, 'WHEN MARTA SAHRMAN ENTERS THE ROOM, IT IS AS IF SUNSHINE HAD FILLED IT. THE SAHRMAN SISTERS AND BROTHER, WHAT JOY THEY BRING! MARTA, WHO IS 14 NOW, HAS THE SAME SUNNY CHARACTER AS HER MOTHER ... MARTA'S LITTLE SISTER KATRI ALSO COMES TO VISIT. SHE HAS GROWN A LOT SINCE SISTERS WAS PAINTED FOUR YEARS AGO. AGAIN SHE IS TOUCHED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE HEADS OF THE TWO GIRLS CLOSE TOGETHER OVER A BOOK, AND SHE PAINTS A GOUACHE OF THEM ... LITTLE KATRI COMES TO HER AND GETS A MARK AN HOUR FOR LOOKING LIKE A GOD'S ANGEL, LIKE A BREEZE ... THE MODEL (KATRI) IS SO ETHEREAL, MOVES OFTEN, GIVES SOMETHING NEW EVERY MINUTE. HELENE WATCHES AND WATCHES WISHING SHE COULD START ON A NEW CANVAS ALL THE TIME.' (HELENE SCHJERFBECK, HELSINKI, 1953, PP. 123 AND 139).
THESE PORTRAITS ARE A RECURRING THEME IN SCHJERFBECK'S WORK AND SHOW A DEEP SENSITIVITY FOR SUBTLE FEMININE EMOTIONS.
'THE EVER-INNOVATIVE SCHJERFBECK SHOWED THAT A CREATIVE SPIRIT IS NEVER SPENT AND KNOWS NO BOUNDS ... SHE HAD THE COURAGE TO PAINT SUBJECTS THAT WERE ALMOST UNBEARABLY POIGNANT OR 'EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL' ... THESE TWO EXTREMES COINCIDE IN SOME OF THE CHILD PORTRAITS SCHJERFBECK PAINTED IN 1910-20, SUCH AS SISTERS, THE PICTURE BOOK AND THE FAMILY HEIRLOOM ...' (SOILI SINISALO, DIRECTOR, ATENEUM, HELSINKI, HELENE SCHJERFBECK - FINLAND'S MODERNIST REDISCOVERED, 1992).
THIS, THE SECOND VERSION OF SISTERS, WAS PAINTED IN 1913. TWO OTHER VERSIONS ARE RECORDED, SISTERS III (PRIVATE COLLECTION, PARIS) AND A MUCH LATER VERSION OF 1945 WHICH WAS ALSO PAINTED FOR GöSTA STENMAN. THE PRESENT EARLY VERSION WAS PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM SCHJERFBECK BY STENMAN IN 1913 WHO IN TURN SOLD THE PICTURE TO THE REUTER FAMILY WHERE IT HAS REMAINED EVER SINCE. THE FIRST OF THE REUTERS TO OWN THE PAINTING, EINAR, WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF SCHJERFBECK AND LATER BECAME HER BIOGRAPHER.
STENMAN, TOO, HAD A HUGE INFLUENCE ON SCHJERFBECK WHOM HE MET FOR THE FIRST TIME THE YEAR THE PRESENT PICTURE WAS PAINTED. AHTELA DISCUSSES THEIR FIRST CELEBRATED MEETING: 'AFTER THE TRAIN FOR ÖSTERBOTTEN RUMBLED PAST ON A DAY IN 1913, HELENE SETS HER EYES ON A YOUNG MAN IN THE GARDEN. SHE SAYS TO HERSELF THAT HE MUST HAVE TAKEN A WRONG TURN, BUT THEN HE, ALREADY ON HELENE'S PORCH, ENTERS THE HOUSE ... HE IS VERY YOUNG, HIS FACE SEEMS FRANKLY CHILDISH. HE INTRODUCES HIMSELF AS 'EDITOR STENMAN', ADDING THAT HE HAS COME TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE ARTIST'S WORKS, SINCE HE IS INTERESTED IN BUYING SOME ... SHE IS STUNNED, AS IT CANNOT BE TRUE. SHE SAYS THERE MUST BE SOME MISTAKE AND THAT THE VISITOR CANNOT MEAN HER ... HOWEVER, THE YOUNG MAN PERSISTS IN HIS HAVING MET THE RIGHT PERSON, AND THAT HE WANTS TO SEE THE WORKS SHE HAS AT HOME AND BUY SOME ... "YOU ARE SO YOUNG", SAYS HELENE. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO BANKRUPT FOR MY SAKE" ... BUT STENMAN DOESN'T GIVE UP, AND SO HELENE SHOWS HIM SOME OF HER OLD PAINTINGS. EVENTUALLY SHE PRESENTS QUITE A FEW, SINCE NOBODY HAS BEEN INTERESTED IN HER WORKS BEFORE. THAT IS THE WOODCUTTER, A SKETCH TO ONE OF THE FIGURES IN GIRLS READING, THE FIRST VERSION OF COSTUME PICTURE AND SOME SMALLER SKETCHES ... EVENTUALLY HELENE HESITATINGLY SHOWS A PAINTING WHICH STANDS BY THE WALL. THIS IS SISTERS. SHE IS SURPRISED BY HER BOLDNESS, IT IS NOT A PAINTING ONE CAN SHOW PEOPLE ... STENMAN LOOKS AT THE PAINTINGS. HE SAYS NOTHING, HIS EYES MOVING FROM ONE PICTURE TO ANOTHER. MAYBE HE IS STARTING TO DOUBT, HELENE SPECULATES ... THE YOUNG STRANGER POINTS AT THE WOODCUTTER AND ASKS: "HOW MUCH IS THAT ONE?" ... AND AFTER HEARING THE PRICE HE SAYS, "IF ONLY MISS DOESN'T REGRET IT AFTERWARDS" ... THE SAME PROCEDURE FOLLOWS WITH EVERY PAINTING. STENMAN POINTS OUT TO HELENE THAT HE IS AN ART DEALER AND IS ACTING AS ONE IN BUYING THE PAINTINGS ... WHEN HE FINALLY ASKS ABOUT THE PRICE FOR SISTERS SHE IS SPEECHLESS. THE OTHER ONES CAN PERHAPS BE DISCUSSED IF MR STENMAN WISHES, BUT SISTERS SHE CANNOT DISCUSS. SHE INTENDS TO KEEP IT TO HERSELF ... "I HAVE TO HAVE THEM ALL", SAYS STENMAN, "AND ESPECIALLY THAT ONE (SISTERS) MUST ABSOLUTELY BE INCLUDED."' (H. AHTELA, OP. CIT., P. 101).
IN TURN, TWO YEARS LATER REUTER INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO SCHJERFBECK: 'A KNOCK ON THE DOOR, AND IN WALKS A MAN IN HIS THIRTIES PERHAPS. HE IS BEHAVING VERY UNPRETENTIOUSLY, HELENE NOTES. HE TELLS HER HE BOUGHT TWO OF HER PAINTINGS TWO YEARS BEFORE AT STENMAN'S EXHIBITION, THE WOODCUTTER AND SISTERS, AND THAT HE, IN ADDITION TO THAT, OWNED A COUPLE MORE WORKS BY HER AND NOW WANTED TO MEET THEIR CREATOR ... THIS DAY SHE REMEMBERS FOREVER. HOURS PASSED. THEY ONLY TALKED ABOUT ART, ABOUT GAUGUIN IN PRIVATE GALLERIES IN PARIS, THE HAGUE AND MOSCOW, ABOUT MODERN PAINTERS ... THEY HAD COFFEE WITH HELENE'S MOTHER.'
STENMAN'S AND REUTER'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ARTIST GREW AND, BY 1917, THEY ORGANISED HER FIRST AND ONLY SOLO EXHIBITION AT STENMAN'S GALLERY IN HELSINKI.
IT WAS STENMAN WHO, SOME TIME AFTER 1925, SUGGESTED THAT SCHJERFBECK SHOULD RE-INTERPRET HER MORE IMPORTANT PICTURES. NOT ONLY DID THIS BRING FINANCIAL SECURITY BUT IT ALSO GAVE HELENE SCHJERFBECK ARTISTIC SATISFACTION; PERFECTING HER MODERN STYLE OF MINIMALISM AND CONDENSED SIMPLIFICATION.
IN 1938 SHE WAS UNDER CONTRACT TO STENMAN AND, FOR A MONTHLY SUM, EVERYTHING SHE PAINTED WOULD GO TO THE STENMAN GALLERY. THE 1945 VERSION (ILLUSTRATED) IS STILL IN THE STENMAN COLLECTION.
THE PRESENT WORK AND THE GIRL WITH BLUE RIBBON (LOT 40) BELONGED TO EINAR REUTER (1881-1968) WHO WROTE TWO BIOGRAPHIES ON HELENE SCHJERFBECK IN THE 1950S UNDER THE PSEUDONYM H. AHTELA. REUTER, A STATE FORESTER, WRITER AND ARTIST, FIRST VISITED SCHJERFBECK IN HYVINKää IN 1915. THEIR RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPED INTO A LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP AND, AS AN ARDENT ADMIRER OF HER WORK, HE WAS ABLE TO ACQUIRE SOME OF HER MOST IMPORTANT PICTURES.