People were the main focus of Eerik Haamer's work. He found his people and motifs in the country. The fact that the people unspoiled by civilisation happened to live on the coast was due to Haamer's origin – his roots were in Saaremaa – and his failed childhood dream of becoming a sailor. Haamer's image of the individual is usually a generalisation, not a portrait. In his domestic creation, we frequently see a figure with an oval face, slightly opened lips and with a somewhat frightened expression. This expression holds confusion, though at the same time it expresses withdrawal and inwardness, as if something substantial is being experienced at the very moment.

Photo: Stanislav Stepaško