Living with vintage portraits and figure paintings
A painting with a person in it changes a room more than almost anything else you can hang. It's a bit like having company, and there's always a story in it, even if you never find out what it is.
I know a figure painting can feel like a bigger decision than a landscape or a floral, but it gets easier once you see that the different kinds suit different rooms.
A quiet portrait
A portrait doesn't have to stare at you across the room. In Seated Figure, a figure in a white shirt sits with the head turned in profile and hands resting in the lap. The paint goes on in broad, sweeping strokes and the figure is pared right back, so it feels still and thoughtful rather than formal. It's signed by the Swedish painter Carl Marcus Larsson (1918 to 1987), who was born in Eskilstuna and trained at Otte Sköld's painting school and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm.
With the sitter looking away, it's an easy painting to live with. I'd hang it somewhere you can sit with it for a while, in a study or a bedroom, say, or on the wall beside a reading chair.
Figures in a scene
Rainy Day is a moody piece, two figures walking through a windswept landscape beneath a dark umbrella, painted in rich emerald green and warm brown. Signed by an unknown artist and at 60 x 68 cm it has real presence on the wall. I have a soft spot for paintings that capture a particular kind of day, and there's something lovely about a wet, blustery scene viewed from somewhere warm and dry. I'd hang it in a hallway or snug, where it can set a cosy, characterful mood on the greyest of mornings.
Old Town is set on a narrow old-town street at dusk, with two street lamps glowing against the deep blues of the buildings and a small group of figures gathered in the lane. The lamplight lifts the warm tones of the walls. It's moody in the nicest way, and it would be lovely in a hallway, where you pass it on your way in from a dark evening.
Wit and folk painting
The Apple Thieves makes me smile every time I walk past it. It's a Swedish naïve painting called Äppeltjuvarna, signed by Rune Gustafsson (1933 to 2012) and dated 1961. A gang of bandits in striped shirts is making its getaway in a blue motor car, with apples tumbling from a laden tree and a Swedish flag flying from the bonnet under a bright summer sky. There's dynamite stashed in the back as well (yes, dynamite). It's painted in thick, textured brushwork in the folk art tradition, and it's simply good fun.
Nudes
A nude can feel like the boldest choice of all, but a good one is mostly about colour and movement. Reclining Nude shows a reclining female figure built from bold, gestural strokes in yellows, ochres and muted blues. It's signed by the Swedish artist A Breuer and comes in its original gold gilt frame. The shape is long and low (58 x 31.5 cm in the frame), which makes it a natural fit above a bed or a low chest of drawers.
Where you hang a nude is a personal thing. A bedroom or a dressing room keeps it private, while a living room says you're confident about it, and honestly, either works.
Mixing figures with the rest of your art
Figure paintings are wonderful in a gallery wall because they give the eye somewhere to land. Put one portrait among landscapes and florals and the character of the whole group changes. They pair well with calmer pieces too. A quiet portrait beside a soft seascape makes a gentle corner.
Every painting in our People & Nudes collection is one of a kind, and you can see the ones still looking for a home in our vintage portrait and figure paintings.