On the surface, the art of Hans Scherfig (1905–1979) is all about the pure joy of imagery. Colours, stories and imagination. Not many possess the ability that Sherfig had to reach a wide audience while not sacrificing his artistic and personal project. In his work – including his writing – the overall tone is humorous and enthralling. Scherfig has the ability to speak to something universally human, which at different levels can be understood by both children and adults. In this way, his motifs are both suited for a child’s room as well as on the walls of a dedicated art collector – an artistic span only few can match.

Scherfig's paintings do not portray the anarchist jungle, but a paradise-like nature in which the animals live in harmony, and the familiar jungle and savannah motifs exude vitality and a clean Arcadian bliss. But beneath the surface lies a razor-sharp satirist and social critic, since Scherfig wanted to change the world. In this light, his paintings represent the social ideal that his authorship called for in its critique of bourgeois society. The artist stated the following about this duality in his work: “People have sought a contrast between the idyllic paintings and the critical authorship and they have attributed a strange duality to me. I myself do not feel such an internal split – both my occupations belong here on earth. There are enough reasons to love this place, and there are also a few things to criticize.” (Carl Erik Bay: “Hans Scherfig 1905–1979” p. 159)

The sharpness of both the pen and public spirit is something Scherfig already acquired during his childhood. The first elephant found its way onto paper already around the time of WWI as an expression of an emerging political consciousness in the very young artist. The elephants are a mainstay in his later work and continue to march across paper and canvas.

At the auction, we are very pleased to present several works that together reflect the artist’s overall artistic oeuvre. From the arrival of the American steamer in Copenhagen in 1928, across the savannah, through the jungle and onto the Red Square in Moscow. Hippos, rhinos, flamingos, camels, giraffes, palms, sailors and the Danish national flag, Dannebrog – all the many elements that Scherfig is known and loved for.