Leon Lunmark is best known for his maritime scenes of the Pacific. His home and studio were in Altadena, California and he achieved his greatest success in the Los Angeles area. But he painted maritimes of all seven seas and all five of the Great Lakes. His paintings have been exhibited in 61 American cities and 12 European and Asian countries.
Leon was born in Mörlund, Kalmar County, in the south of Sweden on May 28, 1875. He was the illegitimate son of Countess Hanna von Til and S. A. Johnson, was educated in Stockholm in the public schools, at the Technical School and at the Stockholm Fine Art Academy.
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In 1906, Leon was twenty years old and emigrated to America, and settled near Chicago in Pullman, Illinois. There he worked in the Decoration Department of the Pullman shops.
In his leisure time he painted, often scenes of the Lake Michigan shore. He participated in local art exhibitions and six of his works were included in juried exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago between 1921 and 1924. It was at these exhibitions that he was discovered by Mr. J. W. Young of the Young Art Gallery on Michigan Avenue. Over the next three years, the Young gallery sold 95 of Leon Lundmark's paintings, and a biography of Leon Lundmark was published in 1924, The Rise of Lundmark, Marine Painter.
The rest of the 1920's Leon served as director of the Scandinavian-American Art Association in Chicago. In this capacity, he returned to Sweden to participate in the Swedish American Exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1923.
In his early 60's, Leon Lundmark moved to Altadena, California where he built his home and studio. It was here he did some of his best work. He exhibited with the California Art Club and had an exhibition in the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1939. He died three years later on May 2, 1942 at the age of sixty-six in Glendale, California.
Source: Scanlanfinearts.com http://www.scanlanfinearts.com/leonlundmark.html
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from our July 2022 Newsletter
Swedish Maritime Painter Leon Lundmark
and his adopted California home
by Daniel Rohlfing |
Leon Lundmark, Joy of the Pacific, 29 x 36, oil on canvas, offered for sale by Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery . com |
Leon Lundmark, Moonlight, 12 x 16
oil on canvas board, offered for sale
by Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery . com
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Leon Lundmark did not arrive in California until after his 60th birthday, but during his few years as a California painter, he did some of his best work.
In a brief few years in his Altadena studio, he compiled a large body of work. His maritime paintings of California's Pacific shore were popular. From his home studio in Altadena just north of Pasadena, he exhibited his paintings with the California Art Club and had a one-person exhibition at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1939.
His obituary in the Pasadena Star News said Leon Lundmark won the first purchase prize in 1941 at the now famous annual Gardena High School Exhibition. This famous exhibition featured most of the elite Southern California painters of the time who donated one of their works to the school, many of which make up the exceptional Gardena High School Collection. (See our June 2016 Article). |
Before coming to California, Leon traveled extensively, painting maritime scenes of all the world's oceans, seas and all five of America's Great Lakes. His paintings were exhibited widely, in 61 American cities and 12 European and Asian countries He exhibited his works at the National Academy of Design and the Art Institute of Chicago. |
Leon Lundmark, End of the Pacific Storm
29 x 36, Private Collection
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Leon Lundmark, The Open Sea, (38 1/2 x 50 5/8)
Krannert Art Museum, The University of Illinois, Champaign, IL |
Leon was born in Mörlunda, Sweden, just a little over 200 miles southwest of Stockholm, on May 28, 1875. He was the illegitimate son of Countess Hanna von Til and S. A. Johnson, was educated in Stockholm at the Technical School and at the Stockholm Fine Art Academy.
When Leon was twenty years old, he emigrated to America, and settled near Chicago in Pullman, Illinois. There he worked in the Decoration Department of the Pullman shops painting Pullman railroad sleeper cars.
In his leisure time he painted, often scenes of the Lake Michigan shore. He participated in local art exhibitions and six of his works were included in juried exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago between 1921 and 1924. |
photo of Leon Lundmark posed with his artist palette, taken from
a posthumous Leon Lundmark exhibition pamphlet dated 1944.
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Leon Lundmark, When Day is Done, 25 x 30, Private Collection
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It was at these exhibitions that he was discovered by Mr. J. W. Young of the Young Art Gallery on Michigan Avenue. Over the next three years, the Young gallery sold 95 of Leon Lundmark's paintings, and a biography of Leon Lundmark was published in 1924, The Rise of Lundmark, Marine Painter.
The rest of the 1920's Leon served as director of the Scandinavian-American Art Association in Chicago. In this capacity, he returned to Sweden to participate in the Swedish American Exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1923.
Among the many people who purchased Leon Lundmark's paintings is a notable Who's Who of notable collectors, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, W.H. Dow, Mrs. F.W. Kellogg, and William Wrigley. |
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