Literature: Jørgen Nielsen: “Oluf Høst 1971”, printed and published privately by Frederiksberg Bogtrykkeri, 1971, ill. full page in colours as pl. XVI. Literature: Lars Kærulf Møller & Jens Erik Sørensen (red.): “Oluf Høst”, Bornholms Kunstmuseum, Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen and Aarhus Kunstmuseum 1994, ill. full page in colours p. 69. Exhibited: “Oluf Høst”, Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen, 1954, cat. no. 66 (stamped on the reverse). Exhibited: Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna, Stockholm, Sweden 1956, cat. no. 122. Exhibited: “Mindeudstilling for Oluf Høst” (Memorial exhibition), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk 1966, cat. 90 (label on the reverse). Exhibited: “Oluf Høst - on loan from a private collection”, The Schools of Gentofte Municipality, traveling exhibition 1966, cat. no. 11. Exhibited: “Oluf Høst”, Bornholms Kunstmuseum, September - November 1994; Kunstforeningen, København, November 1994 - January 1995 and Aarhus Kunstmuseum, January - March 1995. Exhibited: “Oluf Høst - Mellem himmel og jord”, Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, September 2009 - April 2010. Exhibited: On loan to the Oluf Høst Museum, Gudhjem, March - October 2018. Provenance: Book printer Jørgen Nielsen, Frederiksberg. Acquired in 1954 directly from the artist and hence by descent in Jørgen Nielsen's family. Inscribed on the stretcher: “Købt Bornholm 1/3–54” (Acquired Bornholm 1/3–54).

“Midsummer Eve, where everything solid is dissolved and the scents take shape” (Quote about the painting in Jørgen Nielsen's book from 1971)

At this summer's auction in Copenhagen, it is a very special pleasure to be able to present an extraordinary and, in every way, important work by Oluf Høst: the large painting "Sankt Hans Nat” (Midsummer Eve) from 1953. The work has been in the ownership of the same family since 1954 and has never before – despite numerous public exhibitions – been up for sale. The work originates from the printer and owner of Frederiksberg Book Printing, Jørgen Nielsen. His private art collection must be considered one of the most significant of Høst’s artwork established during the artist's own lifetime. Oluf Høst and Jørgen Nielsen first met in 1944 and over the years developed a close friendship, which is documented in an extensive correspondence that is today at the Royal Danish Library and is partly reproduced in Jørgen Nielsen's tribute book to Høst from 1971.

Midsummer Eve is a highlight of the year for many people, not only in Denmark but in the Nordic countries in general. At this time of year, we can – finally – enjoy the long bright days as well as nights that we are geographically bound to only dream of for the rest of the year. Oluf Høst's “Midsummer Eve” is an intense sensory condensation of summer in an unusually grandiose format. The contrast-filled atmosphere around a Midsummer Eve bonfire – the fierce strength of the fire and the heat against the clear coolness of the night sky – is depicted in such a way that it nearly activates one’s sense of smell.

At the same time, the work fully demonstrates Oluf Høst's mastery of the modernist style of painting, going all the way to the extreme points of his pictorial methods: pure intense colour power and highly expressive, almost spontaneous, brushstrokes. At the same time, the motivic inspiration is never out of sight and a work like “Midsummer Eve” convincingly demonstrates how close the artist can get to pure abstraction without losing the motif's grounding.