Paintings of Carl Larsson — Larkin, Scribner 1976

📖 Paintings of Carl Larsson edited by David Larkin (1976, Charles Scribner’s Sons) — a full-color collection of watercolor paintings by celebrated Swedish artist Carl Larsson, showcasing the intimate domestic life he shared with his wife Karin and their seven children in Sundborn, Sweden.

QUICK FACTS

• Editor: David Larkin; Introduction by Brian Sanders; Picture Research by Celestine Dars
• Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons / Peacock Press / Bantam Books, New York
• Year: 1976 (First U.S. Edition: February 1976; Hardcover Edition: May 1976)
• Format: Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket ($12.00)
• ISBN: 0-684-14588-X | LC Card: 75-38076
• Condition: Book: Very Good+ (VG+) // Jacket: Very Good (VG)/Very Good (VG+) — full report below

THE STORY

Carl Larsson (1853–1919) was a Swedish painter whose watercolor depictions of his family home in Sundborn became some of the most recognizable images in Scandinavian art. The series began during a wet summer that prevented him from painting outdoors. His wife Karin, an accomplished artist and textile designer, encouraged him to turn his attention inward — to the house, the children, the daily rituals of family life. The result defined the Scandinavian Arts and Crafts aesthetic and continues to influence interior design today.

THIS EDITION

Edited by David Larkin with an introduction by Brian Sanders and picture research by Celestine Dars, this Scribner hardcover gathers Larsson’s most cherished domestic vignettes and pastoral scenes in full-page color plates. Published under the Peacock Press imprint of Bantam Books, printed by Regenstein Press. This first U.S. hardcover edition (May 1976) is increasingly scarce with its dust jacket intact.

ILLUSTRATIONS & DESIGN

Full-page color reproductions of Larsson’s beloved watercolors: family scenes around the Christmas tree, domestic interiors with painted walls and tiled stoves, pastoral outdoor scenes with children fishing, and intimate portraits. Larsson’s characteristic palette — warm earth tones punctuated by reds, greens, and birch white — is faithfully reproduced on heavy cream-toned pages. Small floor plans and architectural sketches provide context for the rooms depicted.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Larsson’s paintings of Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn defined the Scandinavian domestic aesthetic that became a global design movement
• His work is in the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and the Gothenburg Museum of Art
• The Larsson home remains a museum visited by hundreds of thousands annually — these paintings are the reason it is famous

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First U.S. hardcover edition, May 1976, Charles Scribner’s Sons / Peacock Press. Unclipped dust jacket with original $12.00 price.

What condition is it in? Book: Very Good+ (VG+); Dust Jacket: Very Good (VG)/Very Good (VG+) — full report below.

How many paintings are included? Numerous full-page color plates spanning domestic interiors, family scenes, pastoral landscapes, and portraits.

FOR COLLECTORS

This hardcover with intact dust jacket is increasingly scarce. Larsson’s enduring popularity and the book’s out-of-print status make it sought-after for collectors of Scandinavian art and Arts and Crafts design.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Book: Very Good+ (VG+) // Jacket: Very Good (VG)/Very Good (VG+)

Cover & Spine: Rust-orange cloth boards with bright, unrubbed gilt titling on spine. Sharp corners with only negligible rubbing at extremities. Perhaps the slightest hint of sunning along just the upper edges of the boards. There is a small circular fray to the cloth of the bottom edge of the front board.

Dust Jacket: Preserved in a protective archival sleeve; original unclipped price of $12.00 intact on upper front flap; clean and vibrant with shelving/surface rubbing in a few places.

Text Block & Pages: Clean and off-white to cream, uniform throughout; plates are bright and crisp. Faint neat ownership initials in ink on the top right corner of the front flyleaf; otherwise unmarked.

Binding: Square, firm, and securely bound, hinges crisp.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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