Oil Study

There are no known descriptions or photographs of this study.

When Astrup died in 1928, the picture was inherited by his widow Engel Astrup (1892–1966). Several of his studies were included in the memorial exhibitions in 1928, at the request of the artist and art theorist Else Christie Kielland (1903–1993). Christie Kielland visited Engel Astrup at Sandalstrand in the summer of 1928, and was overwhelmed by what she described as a treasure trove of pictures. Including them in the exhibition would make it “bigger and better and more comprehensive”, and it would also make the body of work appear “richer and more distinctive” (letter from Else Christie Kielland to Simon Thorbjørnsen (1879–1951), 29/08/1928, Kunstnerforbundet’s archives, NB).

Several of these studies were included at the memorial exhibitions in Bergen and Kristiania (Oslo) later that year. A number of them were also up for sale, but this study was not amongst them. The history of the work after 1928 is therefore unknown. The study may be one of the oil sketches the Norwegian National Gallery bought from Engel Astrup in 1949.