Lot 1816
JULIUS OLSSON, RA (1864-1942)
SHEEP GRAZING IN A FIELD BY A VILLAGE
Signed and dated 89, oil on canvas, unframed
61 x 91.5cm.
* Olsson was the dominant figure at the forefront of the nascent St Ives colony, founded in 1884 (shortly after Whistler had wintered there) as a rival to the burgeoning community of artists in Newlyn. Olsson became almost its de facto head: his garrulous and welcoming personality ensured that it soon thrived. The town's Art Club was formed in 1888 and its emphasis was on socialising rather than theorizing. If the Newlyn artists focused upon individual characters and liked to include a narrative element, the St Ives artists specialised in purer landscape and marine themes. In this very early work, Olsson is clearly showing his love of the soft light of dusk that informed so many of his later poetically atmospheric seascapes.
