Come rain or shine!

Weather is one of the most common issues to talk about – weather it is raining or shining. This year’s exhibition lingers from one season to the other, from spring crust of snow to stormy oceans.

The art donation that Eino (1924-2010) and Meeri Haapanen (1921-1996) made to the city of Loimaa, has a strong focus on landscapes and the exhibition gives a good overview of their interests. Eino Haapanen was born in Metsämaa, which today is a part of Loimaa. He studied in Turku and graduated with a diploma in business and administration in 1951. He made his career in Helsinki and both cities are well represented in the collection. Among the views from Turku, one can find Eero Järnefelt’s (1863-1937) painting of Turku Cathedral from 1930 and Otto Mäkilä’s (1904-1955) view over Turku Castle. Kauko Hyvärinen’s (1918-1993) painting from Seurasaari, which is a well-known Open-Air Museum in Helsinki, is made in the same year, as Eino retired from his position as the administrative director.

Haapanens had a cottage in the archipelago of Porvoo. In the exhibition the archipelago is present in Berndt Lagerstam’s (1868-1930) Landscape from Kemiö, as well as in Venny Soldan-Brofelt’s (1863-1945) Sheep in the Archipelago. Sea landscapes are the core of the collection. Lev Lagorio (1828-1905) is known of having painted by the seashores of both Finland and Norway in the late 19^th century. In the Haapanen collection there is one piece by him, called Surge from 1893.