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Edvard Munch specialists. Norwegian Fine Art.
Auction Wednesday November 25 2026 at 18:00
Important Autumn Sale
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Backer, Harriet (1845-1932), The Neighbour’s House, Sandøya (1916)
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Backer, Harriet (1845-1932), The Neighbour’s House, Sandøya (1916)
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Backer, Harriet (1845-1932), The Neighbour’s House, Sandøya (1916)
View high-resolution image
Backer, Harriet(1845-1932)
The Neighbour’s House, Sandøya (1916)

Oil on canvas
54.5x73 cm
Signed and dated lower right: Harriet Backer 1916.

Location inscribed lower right: "Sandøen. Brevik"

Exhibited:

Christiania kunstforening, Oslo, 1925. Harriet Backer Jubilæumsutsilling, catalogue no. 77
Bergens kunstforening, 1925. Harriet Backer Jubilæumsutstilling, catalogue no. 75
Kunstnernes hus, Oslo, 1933. Harriet Backers Minneutstilling - Lars Jorde, catalogue no.85
Nasjonalgalleriet og Oslo Kunstforening, 1954. Harriet Backer 1845-1932, catalogue no.73
Bergens Kunstforening og Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, 1964. Else Christie Kielland. Harriet Backer, catalogue no. 79

Provenance:

Inga Gjems 1925. Fredrik Blom 1954, 1964.

Estimate
NOK 300,000–400,000USD 31,500–42,000EUR 28,400–37,900

Coming up for sale Wednesday November 25 2026 at 18:00

Registration to place bids

Buyers will have to register before bidding. Commission bids and registration to bid by telephone must be submitted no later than three hours prior to the start of the auction.

The Neighbour’s House, Sandøya, 1916

In the summer of 1916, Harriet Backer (1845–1932) stayed on Sandøya, off Brevik, together with her friend, fellow painter Oluf Wold-Torne, and his family. The stay proved a source of both creative energy and joie de vivre. In a letter from July that year, Backer describes the pleasure of working outdoors: she stands on a rocky knoll in sun and wind, watching sailing boats glide past on the fjord and clouds drift across the sky, and feels gratitude at still being able to devote herself to painting.

The Neighbour’s House, Sandøya (1916) conveys this mood of calm and contentment. The motif is viewed from a small hollow in the terrain, looking up towards a white-painted house with a red roof perched on the top of the rocky outcrop. In front of the house, a large cluster of trees stands out against the blue summer sky. The green foliage and fresh colours lend the picture a light, idyllic character.

In her treatment of this subject, Backer shows her interest in the newer painterly idioms of her day. The simplified forms, light palette, and free brushwork point towards a more modern, French-influenced approach to landscape painting. Even so, Backer has retained the stillness and closeness to nature that characterise much of her art.