This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Elmer Forsberg was born in 1883 at Yxpila in Karleby, Finland, son of
Adolf Alexander Forsberg and Signe Katherine Bonde, and emigrated to
the US in 1891 with his family. They settled in Chicago, Illinois
where he studied art from 1904-08 and graduated from the Art Institute
of Chicago. He was a faculty member there from 1906-1950,
becoming head of the Department of Drawing, Painting and Illustration
in 1930.
He remained at the Institute as an instructor and lecturer for over 40
years. Some of his students became outstanding artists: Grant
Wood and Dean Cornwell. While at the Institute he also associated
with Walt Disney and Frank Lloyd Wright.
He traveled to Finland several times between 1911 and 1925 and lectured
in his homeland where he was closely associated with Jean Sibelius,
Axel Gallen-Kallela, Pekka Halonen, Albert Edelfelt and Eliel Saarinen.
In 1923 he was awarded Chevalier of the First Class-Cross of the White
Rose of Finland — the second American to receive this award.
From 1924-40 he was Consul of Finland for the Midwest. In 1936 he was listed in "Who’s Who in Chicago and Vicinity."
On 19 June 1915 he married Anna Olivia Sandquist from Finland, d.
1951. They had two children: Margaretha (Greta) and Neils, d. 1
Sep 1950. Neils and his wife Eileen lived in LaBlanca, TX and had
previously lived in Houston.
After Elmer’s death, his paintings were divided between his
children. Those belonging to Greta have disappeared and the
paintings Neils had are in the possession of his wife Eileen and
daughter Leslie Harris. Elmer’s paintings have been exhibited in
various institutes including the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933-34, and
some of his works are in permanent collections.
His students called him a man who lived and worked with great integrity
and honesty. These virtues are reflected in his paintings of Finland,
the American west, midwest and his portraits. He was a sensitive and
intuitive artist who projected feeling into his works of art which were
described as living and fluid.
Elmer Forsberg continued to teach until his death in 1950 and his students have passed on his traits in their work.
June Pelo
Sources:
Who’s Who in Chicago and Vicinity, 1936
http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/jp_forsberg.htm
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| The following information was submitted in November of 2006 by his nephew, Michael L.Heup: Mr. Forsberg was a featured artist for the Cover of Coronet Magazine for the period of 1947 through 1951, appearing on the cover at least 12 times. Coronet Magazine,
was owned by Esquire, Inc. and was based in Chicago. It began
operations in 1936 and closed in 1971. It had a circulation of
over 2.5 million at the time Mr. Forsberg was featured.
Coronet featured "real life " scenes on their magazine and
was prelude to the very successful run of Norman Rockwell's American
Scenes that appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in the 1960's and later.
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Elmer A. Forsberg (1883-1950)
Born in Gamlakarleby, Forsberg immigrated to Chicago, where he studied
and later became a professor at the Art Institute of Chicago in the
area of illustration and drawing. His work is in the collection
of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Submitted by Edwart P. Bentley, Art Researcher, East Lansing, Michigan
Source:
Swanson, Mary Towley. Tangled Web: Swedish Immigrant Artists’ Patronage Systems, 1880-1940. 2004.
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