A Life with a Canvas and Brush

Bruun Rasmussen in Aarhus is putting Birthe Henriksen & Verner Pedersen’s unique art collection by the much-loved Vejle-born artist Albert Bertelsen under the hammer. Now aged 97, Bertelsen is still active at the easel. 

 

Birthe Henriksen & Verner Pedersen’s collection of Albert Bertelsen works was created during the past 30 years. It started out small, but the couple’s interest in Bertelsen’s charming universe gradually took off, and at one point the collection comprised more than 100 works. 

“Back in 2001, we auctioned off more than 80 of these works, but fortunately the couple were not done with their collecting. As a result, we now have the pleasure of repeating the success with a three-week online auction at bruun-rasmussen.dk featuring many of Bertelsen’s paintings, drawings and prints. The consignment provides a real insight into an entire life encompassed by canvas, brush and great empathy," explains an enthusiastic Peter Beck, Bruun Rasmussen’s Head Valuer in Aarhus. 

Childhood Memories and the Great Outdoors

Inspired by his childhood memories, Bertelsen decided early on to quit his job as a sign painter to devote his life to art. To this day, his paintings of childhood memories are some of his most popular motifs. Later, Bertelsen incorporated impressions from his travels to the Faeroe Islands in his characteristic canvases depicting fjords and fells: the smallness of man in the face of the great outdoors. 

Albert’s Portraits and the Beauty of Decay

Besides his landscapes, Bertelsen has always had a special eye for creating charming portraits – whether inspired by the city life in Paris or the magic of a circus scene. 

His gallery of characters consists of charismatic personalities who cannot fail to instil sympathy in the beholder. Bertelsen demonstrates his special ability to find beauty in decay in his depictions of flaking walls, an old lock or a rotting door. These are motifs that put him in the company of contemporary photorealists such as Bjarke Regn Svendsen and Poul-Anker Bech.

The online auction featuring Bertelsen runs over three weeks. Every Friday, a handful of new works will be put up for auction.

View the current selection here

 

For further information, please contact:

Peter Beck: +45 8818 1186 · pb@bruun-rasmussen.dk