[From the Community Collection, a public trust in Agincourt, Iowa]
SINCLAIR, Folke [1877–1956]
“Trädgrupp” / Group of Trees
1926
oil on canvas / 12 inches by 11 inches
The collection is fortunate, indeed, to have acquired a second painting by Swedish artist Berndt Folke Sinclair. “Trädgrupp” (which we translate as “Group of Trees” or “Copse”) is another pastoral vignette of the Swedish countryside. His composition and low key palette are similar to British rail travel posters of the late ’20s.
Sinclair is a well listed artist, though not well known outside his native Sweden, whose work is represented in museums at Helsingborg, Kristianstad, Malmö and Tomelilla.
I´m a relative of Folke Sinclair (he was my grandmothers uncle), and find it interesting and gratifying that his art has reached all the way to USA, far away from his native country and the southernmost region Scania (”Skåne”) were he lived and found most of his motives. He was a remarkable man in many ways and also a skilled painter. I am an artist myself and have studied his work thoroughly throughout the years and have learned a lot from his work.
An interesting fact is that Folke was born and raised under very poor circumstances but managed to get an employment as a Engine Driver on the railways in northern Sweden. After having invented some sort of device for the engines in the State Railways, he was awarded a sum of money which enabled him to quit his employment and start out as a full-time painter. He was quite successful and managed to make a good living from his art.
Your painting from Folkes hand is quite different from his earlier work. Much bolder and modern than the traditional landscapes which he otherwise produced. Pls feel free to contact me if you want any further information about Folke S. and his work.
Hello, Mr Schött,
I’m so happy that you found your way to our eccentric site. You may have gathered that Folke Sinclair’s work is part of a “Community Collection” in the city of Agincourt, Iowa — a fictional place created as an academic exercise in the relationship between Design and Narrative, that is, between place-making and story-telling. We’ve developed the Agincourt Project during the last dozen years and built three museum exhibits around it. In the most recent show, there was actually a “loan exhibition” from Agincourt to a real museum here in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The exhibits include art, student- and faculty-generated architectural projects, various writing exercises, and even music (two works have been composed for us by Daron Hagen [https://www.daronhagen.com/store/agincourt-fanfare]). At some point, I’ll probably try to do a catalogue for the Community Collection and publish it on blurb.com or lulu.com; we’ll keep you in mind.
Best regards,
Ron Ramsay [plains.architecture@gmail.com]
Hello all. I am happy to have found some information about Mr. Sinclair, thank you. I recently bought, in New Orleans, a 1920 landscape. Another landscape (c. 1940) is on its way to me from Germany. I anticipate buying more; his pictures are so very good. Thanks again and best regards, JMB
Hello: I’m glad that you found our site. You may have realized that Agincourt, Iowa is a fictional place, generated as an academic exercise for students, faculty, friends, graduates, and other to come play in the sandbox of history. Somehow, in the course of all this, we’ve created an art collection as part of the community’s history. Folke Sinclair is a part of that. And, yes, his work is wonderfully representative of its time; we’re lucky to have them.