# Olle Baertling artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/olle-baertling/
Profile generated: 2026-06-01T03:40:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1911-12-06
- Death date: 1981-05-02
- Nationality: Swedish
- Movements: Constructivism, Concrete art, Geometric abstraction
- Common media: Painting, Sculpture, Graphic art, Wall painting, Textile art

## About Olle Baertling

Olle Bærtling (1911–1981) was a Swedish painter, sculptor, and graphic artist born in Halmstad and active in Stockholm. He is recognized as one of Sweden's most significant twentieth-century artists, best known for developing a distinctive visual language built around triangular forms, bold color contrasts, and what he termed "formes ouvertes"—open-form compositions that extend beyond the picture plane. Associated with constructivism and concrete art, Baertling created paintings, sculptures, monumental wall works, prints, and textile pieces characterized by geometric precision and optical dynamism. His work is held by major international institutions including Tate and the Museum of Modern Art. The Bærtlingstiftelsen foundation, established to promote constructive art, maintains a collection of over 300 works spanning his career and continues to support artists working in related traditions.

## Common works and media

Oil paintings on canvas featuring hard-edged triangular forms in contrasting colors, often in large or monumental scale. Public and architectural wall paintings and sculptural installations. Screen prints and graphic works reproducing his geometric compositions. Textile works and monumental commissions. Smaller gouache studies and works on paper. Sculptures in metal and mixed media reflecting his open-form spatial concepts.

## Market and appraisal context

Baertling's work appears at auction primarily in Post-War and Contemporary Art and Scandinavian Art categories. Paintings and sculptures featuring his signature open-triangle compositions tend to attract the strongest interest, while his graphic prints and textile works provide more accessible entry points for collectors. Key valuation factors include medium, scale, period (mature works from the 1950s onward are generally preferred), provenance quality, and whether the piece has documented exhibition history. The artist's estate foundation may be a resource for authentication questions. Collectors should note that Baertling worked across a wide range of media and editions, so attribution and medium verification are important steps in any appraisal.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines independent artist-identity research from museum, library-authority, and estate sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots from the Invaluable database when those records are available. Identity data is grounded in the Getty ULAN, RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, VIAF, Wikidata, the Tate collection, and the Bærtlingstiftelsen estate foundation.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/3507
- Bærtlingstiftelsen (Baertling Estate Foundation): http://www.baertling.com/
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/olle-baertling-685
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1348015
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/27872945/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500013181