(Cows returning in the evening)

Artur Oliver Julianus Sahlen

Artur Sahlen was intrumental in bringing color woodcuts and the graphic arts to Sweden's fine art scene in the early 20th century. Along with fellow printmaker Harriet Sundtrom, he founded the Original Woodcut Association in 1911 and opened their own printing press in 1916.

From the collection of Danish critic and author Georg Bröchner, who wrote for the British art magazine "The Studio" in the early 20th century, this color woodcut exemplifies early 1900s Swedish Modernism, the style beginning to depart from the Belle Epoque and to take on hints of Expressionism. A simple scene of a woman shepherding her herd of dairy cows, it is nonetheless a striking image in its bold contrast and keenly wrought detail.