Gustav Bolin descended from Russian goldsmiths who worked for the Tsars and the Swedish Royal family, but Bolin himself grew up in France after his family moved there when he was still a baby. Paris became home, and as a young man, he trained in the studio of Othon Friesz, where he learned to paint with confidence, freedom and an instinctive feel for colour.

When the Second World War broke out, Bolin headed south, drawn by light and space as much as safety. In the South of France he fell into a rich artistic circle that included André Lhote, Tal Coat and Charles Rollier. They even exhibited together at the Musée de Valence in 1943 – no small thing at a time when simply making art felt quietly defiant.

Bolin is best known for his luminous, almost dreamlike landscapes and gently abstract compositions. He wasn’t interested in pinning a place down exactly; instead, he painted the feeling of it, shapes dissolving into light, colours lifted straight from the Mediterranean. The result is work that feels calm, optimistic and quietly transporting, the kind of painting you want to live with.