Rago Auctions

Swedish-American Impressionist painter John Fabian Carlson was born in 1875 and immigrated to Buffalo with his family in 1884. He studied at the Art Students League of Buffalo and later moved to New York City to train at the Art Students League there under influential artists like John Henry Twachtman and Frank Vincent DuMond.

After garnering various accolades, Carlson's career took off and he became the director of the Woodstock School of Landscape Painting. He gained recognition with awards from the National Academy of Design and the Salmagundi Club. Best known for his evocative landscapes, Carlson's work is characterized by bold brushwork and vibrant colors, often depicting scenes of America's Northeast and West. Aside from painting, Carlson was a respected teacher, sharing his knowledge at various institutions. His book, Elementary Principles of Landscape Painting, published in 1928, became a classic in the field.

While Carlson died in 1947 at age seventy-two in New York City, his impact on American landscape painting was profound and his influence endures through the artists he taught and his many works. Paintings by Carlson are held within the collections of institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art in Denver, and the Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina.