Bruno Liljefors — Eider Ducks in Flight Over the Sea

The eider is a sea duck of the cold North Atlantic, and Liljefors paints it the way he paints all his birds — knowing exactly how the air sits under that particular wing. Two birds skim a heavy swell at the end of a long day, the storm light bruising the sky with rose and lilac while the water below stays slate-dark. The whole picture turns on the contrast between the working pulse of the wings and the slow weight of weather behind them.

Reproduced as an A6 card on heavy art paper, the scene loses none of its drama. The format slips comfortably into an envelope for a partner exchange and sits just as well in a small frame on a bookshelf. A welcome arrival for anyone with a bird field guide on the desk, a coastal walker who knows what an eider call sounds like at dusk, or a collector quietly building a flight of Liljefors cards.

Browse the full Bruno Liljefors postcard collection.