In the early 1940s, Mikko was in a good and stable place in his creative life, and was productive in different genres. Art critics especially underscore his views of Tartu (Mikko lived in Tartu until 1944), however, his still lifes and small pictures of rural life occupy a special place too. The refined, artistic and elegant delivery of the artist and his cheerful perspective of life are the essence of these paintings.

In the 1950s, Mikko became interested in monumental paintings. His strong background in French modernist form, acquired during his time at the art school, was realised in creating massive compositions.    An extensive series of musical instruments, a myriad of beautiful still lifes with instruments, pitchers, doilies, and books dating to the late 1950s, have become classic works of art.

In 1960, the artist embarks on an intense and stylistically diverse period, during which he expresses himself in multipart figurative compositions. Lepo Mikko is notably the author of the draft of the ceramic mural at the library of the Academy of Sciences, which  depicts family, education, and science with large symbolic figures.

The most famous works towards Mikko’s later period of creation are “Yellow madonna” and “Still life with pomegranates”. At the spring auction of Haus Gallery, Lepo Mikko is represented with his painting “Still life with a basket” (1962), which presents a masculine, nonchalant choice of objects and a fine colour gamut combined with a firm structure, so typical of Mikko. In other words, this masterpiece is a still life in a slightly geometric manner with strong contours that evolved at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s.

Haus Gallery’s spring auction will be held on Friday, 27 April at 7.30 p.m. Auction works can be viewed in the online catalogue and also at Haus Gallery.