Helmer Osslund

Swedish painter Helmer Osslund was born under the name Åslund, but changed his name to Osslund for better understanding when he moved to the United States to become an engineer. Initially, he was educated at Umeå University. In 1886 he went to the United States for a year and made his way as a laborer in various trades. Back in Stockholm, he continued his studies at the Technical Night School. At the age of 21, he began to paint and was employed from 1889-94 as a decorator at the Gustavsberg porcelain company. He then studied in Paris and London.

Osslund later spent several months painting northern landscapes and undertook extensive hikes in the northern wastelands. Paul Gauguin taught him to paint on waxed paper, which was cheaper and easier to handle than regular canvas while hiking. His Lapland motifs showed the magnificent wilderness and blazing fall colors. The paintings established Osslund as the “Norrland artistic discoverer.” His sister Frida Åslund (1879-1937) became a well-known author in Sweden.

With regard to Osslund’s entry, the question arises again as to the sporting reference of his works. Sweden actually planned to submit its contributions “hors concours” and therefore did not really feel bound to the requirement of a sports theme. Although The rocky Lapland (Hundalen) could not be identified, there is an abundance of landscapes known in his oeuvre from this region. Hundalen is a valley in northwestern Norway east of Narvik. A Laplander from Sea Falls, originally Lapp från Sjöfallet, was a portrait of a Lapp in a kind of fur coat in mixed media on paper (80 x 52 cm). On the verso of the painting the sticker of the art exhibition in Los Angeles is still preserved.