John F. Carlson  (1874   -   1945)  Works

John F. Carlson

John F. Carlson (1875 – 1947)

Born in Kalmar-Lan, Sweden in 1875, John Fabian Carlson immigrated at the age of 10 with his family to America. He became one of the leading landscape painters and teachers in America, known especially for his use of Tonalism and Impressionism.  In 1902, Carlson was awarded a scholarship at the Art Students League in New York City, studying under Frank Vincent DuMond and Lovell Birge Harrison, where he became close friends of Harrison.  Carlson later joined Harrison in Woodstock to work as his assistant in 1906. While in Woodstock, Carlson became involved in the Arts and Crafts Movement, active at Woodstock’s Byrdcliffe Colony.

In 1909, Carlson had his first solo exhibit in New York City and, in 1911, was elected to the National Academy of Design, becoming a full member in 1925. He was director of the Art Students League summer school in Woodstock from 1911 until 1916 and later, established his own school, the John F. Carlson School of Landscape Painting, in 1922. In 1942, he co-founded another school with Rockport School painter and friend, Emile Gruppe, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Carlson was the recipient of many awards throughout his career, including the Carnegie Prize and the Altman First Prize presented by the National Academy of Design.

 

Photo Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum