Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1948.
Signature: Haamer 48

Eerik Haamer (1908-1994), who graduated from Pallas as a student of Nikolai Triik in 1935, became one of the most prominent Estonian masters of figurative composition in the second half of the 1930s. Born in Kuressaare, he was very attached to his home island, and his second favorite place was Ruhnu. He dedicated many works to these two islands, including those of fishermen.

He continued to cultivate the fishing theme after the war while living on the west coast of Sweden. He got a job at an architectural firm in Gothenburg and built a summer home on the island of Lyrö, opposite the island of Orusti with the village of Mollösund, which was an important fishing center. Haamer had many friends among the fishermen there, and he also went to sea with them.

In his paintings from 1944-48, we still find a Pallasian line, the fishermen recall memories from their home islands, and an important place is given to drawing. The artist especially loved the striking types of old fishermen, a row of whom we can see in this painting. In soft tones, he conveys the everyday life of coastal residents’ who charm Haamer with their authenticity in their natural environment – no one is posing but with their hats firmly on their heads, their thoughts are probably already on the upcoming catch.

This painting is reproduced in the catalogue section of Reeli Kõiv’s Haamer monograph (Tln. 2008, no. 143).

Text: Mai Levin