拍品專文
Carlson and his family moved to the United States in 1884 from Sweden and settled in Buffalo, New York. He won a scholarship to the Art Students League in 1902 where he studied under Frank Vincent Dumond. Carlson won another scholarship two years later to the painting school in Woodstock at the Brydcliff colony. He studied under Birge Harrison who became his life-long friend and mentor. Carlson followed Harrison's teachings, believing nature, through the manipulation of color, light and form, should be viewed in its idealistic state and evoke peace and tranquility. Composition, however, was the cornerstone of Carlson's approach to landscape painting.
In Woodstock, Carlson discovered an environment that embodied the qualities of nature that Harrison had embraced. Carlson sought inspiration from Woodstock's local wooded areas in the late autumn and winter. Winter, Woodstock, in its subject matter and stylistic components, is a quintessential example of Cralson's work. Carlson, in addition to using luminous color and dappled light, constructed a compositon that created a calm and controlled vision of nature. Winter , Woodstock is methodically arranged into three zones composed of trees, barns and a meandering stream. The trees and barns placed at the edges of the canvas balance the composition but also frame the receding space created by the stream, controlling the viewer's escape into the landscape beyond.
Carlson assumed directorship when Harrison retired in 1911. Under his leadership the school at the Brydcliff colony flouirshed. The success of the school, however, required so much time that Carlson could only sketch the woods during the late fall and winter. It is partly for this reason that Carlson produced a greater number of snow scenes during his lifetime. Carlson stepped down from his post in 1918 when stylisitc differences with the emerging young artists could not be reconciled with his teachings. After a brief time away, Carlson returned to Woodstock in 1922 to open the John F. Carlson School of Landscape Painting.
In Woodstock, Carlson discovered an environment that embodied the qualities of nature that Harrison had embraced. Carlson sought inspiration from Woodstock's local wooded areas in the late autumn and winter. Winter, Woodstock, in its subject matter and stylistic components, is a quintessential example of Cralson's work. Carlson, in addition to using luminous color and dappled light, constructed a compositon that created a calm and controlled vision of nature. Winter , Woodstock is methodically arranged into three zones composed of trees, barns and a meandering stream. The trees and barns placed at the edges of the canvas balance the composition but also frame the receding space created by the stream, controlling the viewer's escape into the landscape beyond.
Carlson assumed directorship when Harrison retired in 1911. Under his leadership the school at the Brydcliff colony flouirshed. The success of the school, however, required so much time that Carlson could only sketch the woods during the late fall and winter. It is partly for this reason that Carlson produced a greater number of snow scenes during his lifetime. Carlson stepped down from his post in 1918 when stylisitc differences with the emerging young artists could not be reconciled with his teachings. After a brief time away, Carlson returned to Woodstock in 1922 to open the John F. Carlson School of Landscape Painting.