Literature: Ólafur Kvaran (red.): “Gunnlaugur Scheving - Yfrirlitssýning - Retrospective”, Listasafn Íslands / National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik 2001, similar motif ill. p. 98. Provenance: Manufactor, art collector and patron of the arts Ragnar í Smára (Ragnar Jónsson, 1904–1984), Iceland. Provenance: Private collection, Iceland.

“Scheving's motto, 'monumental, direct, sincere' can be applied to his own paintings. They are indeed [often] monumental in size, simply yet powerfully constructed, and seem to be a direct and deeply felt response to what the artist knew of the life and toil of fishermen, though he was never one himself. Scheving always rejected the notion that his paintings glorified the heroic temperament of Icelandic firshermen. Yet it is difficult not to see them as tributes to masculine endeavor. Not only are the paintings teeming with powerfully built men doing men-sized jobs, but the very structure of these paintings, their formal aspects and colours, all combine to create an atmosphere of masculinity: the angular forms, divided by broad and concise brushstrokes, the uneven texture of the paint itself and the cool sheen of the dominant colours”. (Gunnar J. Árnason: “The Artistic Career of Gunnlaugur Scheving”, quoted from the above mentioned book p. 48.