Tall, with dark hair and brown eyes, animated, equipped with handle-bar moustache and Van Dyke beard, and invariably sporting his distinctive pince-nez spectacles, Arvid Nyholm, to most observers, cut a profile that was anything but Scandinavian. Many thought he was Gaelic - quick-witted, ready to smile and possessing a joie de vivre, which immediately suggested Mediterranean origins. Even to those who knew him well, such as fellow Swede and artist Birger Sandzén (1871-1954), Nyholm was an unusually warm and gregarious fellow who was immensely likable and who possessed a penchant for imbuing ordinary tales with outrageous, side-stitching humor.[1] In short, Arvid Nyholm had “presence.” He also had talent.

Born in Stockholm on July 12, 1866, Arvid Fredrik Nyholm emanated from a successful middle-class family. His father was Carl Fredrik Nyholm, manager of Centraltryckeriet (the Central Publishing Company), a position, which at the time in class-conscious Sweden elicited respect and denoted success. His mother was Amalia Petronella Wahlberg.[2] As a stockholmsgrabb (a “kid” born and raised in Stockholm), Arvid received his initial schooling at Södrarealskolan. He successfully passed his student examination in 1886.

Early on, Arvid’s parents recognized their son’s penchant for drawing and painting and, to their credit, actively encouraged his artistic endeavors. To his father’s way of thinking, Arvid possessed a special skill that could be utilized in assuring a financially secure future.[3] Given the profound physical and demographic changes taking place in Stockholm because of Sweden’s burgeoning Industrial Revolution, architecture struck the elder Nyholm as a likely career for his son. Consequently, at Carl Nyholm’s urging, Arvid entered Tekniska Högskolan (The Trade University) in 1886 for the purpose of becoming an architect. Arvid’s tenure at Tekniska, however, was neither long nor happy, or, as stated laconically in his own words, “I yearned to be able to draw figures other than those defined by geometric lines.”[4]

Arvid’s father must have expressed disappointment at his son’s rejection of a future in architecture. Nonetheless, he supported Arvid’s decision of 1887 to enter private study under Andreas Brolin, one of Stockholm’s best-known stage and set designers.[5] Arvid also took private lessons from Gösta Krehl, an academy-trained illustrator who specialized in classical drawing and genre subjects.[6]

Nyholm’s friendly, outgoing personality assured him many friends. One of his first, and certainly one of his best, was Henry Reuterdahl (1870-1925) who, in 1889, was also a student at Brolin’s studio. Like Nyholm, Henry later immigrated to America where he became one of the period’s foremost magazine illustrators as well as a painter of marine subjects.[7] It was also at Brolin’s studio, in 1887, Nyholm met and married the woman with whom he would share the rest of his life: Amelie Josephina Grönander.[8] Of considerable artistic ability herself, Amelie forever remained Nyholm’s foremost admirer and supporter; together, they had five children, three girls and two boys.

Like many other young, aspiring Swedish artists in the latter 1880s, Nyholm looked to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts for his formal entry into the world of Swedish painting. Yet, the Academy, through its rigid adherence to mid-nineteenth century aesthetics and its general opposition to policy change, was under attack; many aspirants had already turned their backs on its conservative instructors and meaningless curriculum, choosing instead to seek their artistic development beyond the borders of Scandinavia. Among these was Anders Zorn (1860-1920), an exponent of plein-air painting and ultimately one of Sweden’s most energetic proponents of National Romantic aesthetics. He was also one of the so-called opponenterna (“the opponents” to the Academy) and actively supported the creation of Konstnärsförbundet (The Federation of Artists). In 1890, he began teaching at the Federation’s first art school in Stockholm.[9]

Nyholm began his studies at the Academy in 1889 though, by the following year, he, like many of his contemporaries, was intoxicated with the air of revolution enveloping Swedish art. In many ways, it was Anders Zorn who epitomized the changes taking place - his innate genius, his flamboyant rejection of the Academy, his fervent belief in individual aesthetic development, his adherence to plein-air aesthetics, and his attainment of international renown - all these qualities had served to elevate his stature to almost mythic proportions.[10]

In the summer of 1890, when Zorn was in Sweden, a small number of students from the Academy solicited him to give them painting lessons, a request which, to both their surprise and elation, the great master accepted. Nyholm was in this group, and it may very well have been he who helped orchestrate the request.[11] As he later recalled with amusement, Zorn immediately ordered the students “to rent a studio, hire a model and go to work.”[12] Indeed, as history would show, this initial summer class with Anders Zorn on Norra Smedjegatan soon evolved as Konstnärsförbundet’s first art school.[13] Nyholm spent the rest of 1890 studying under Zorn’s tutelage, and by the fall of 1891, he had been joined by several other young artists who one day would also make their mark in America: Birger Sandzén, Carl Lotave (1872-1924), Gerda Lindblad Ahlm (1869-1956) and August Franzén (1863-1930). Zorn, together with his colleagues Richard Bergh and Per Hasselberg taught these young students in a way that did not stifle the individuality of their pupils, but fostered a belief that “Art is Life.”[14] The class was decidedly convivial - even when the teachers were present - thanks in large part to Sandzén’s penchant for song and Nyholm’s love of a good story.[15] Indeed, for the young artists whose destinies would lead them to the New World, their time with Zorn, Bergh and Hasselberg constituted a defining moment in their respective educations; an exhilarating time in Swedish art when they, themselves, were participating in history in the making.

Nyholm’s studies at Konstärsförbundet (state art school) lasted only a year and a half.[16] Yet, his time with Zorn was of fundamental significance to his artistic development. In terms of technique, subject matter and preferences in media, few students who worked under Zorn in the early 1890s adhered more closely to the tenets espoused by their teacher than did Nyholm. Like Zorn, Nyholm excelled in oils, watercolors and graphics and, indeed, in following his master, Nyholm was as much at home in one medium as the other. His brushstroke in oils was often bold, assertively applied, at times, almost sculptural, a classic hallmark of Zorn’s approach. The colors he preferred also resembled Zorn’s, whose palette tended toward deep, rich, dark tonal variations, with pronounced chiaroscuro and highlights of small, seemingly spontaneous dashes of red, white or green. In watercolor, too, there existed a strong stylistic kinship between student and teacher, particularly in their love of the medium’s aesthetic effects - its fluidity, spontaneity and quick impressions. Even in his preferred subject matter, portraiture and landscapes, Nyholm demonstrated his indebtedness to Zorn, and both men were strikingly adept in capturing the immediacy and intimacy of their subjects, a shared ability often cited in discussions of their styles. Yet, there existed differences. Nyholm’s brushstroke always remained more restrained and his surfaces smoother than Zorn’s. His portraiture was invariably more literal, and his interior scenes, for which he was particularly appreciated, exude a warmth and familial security which is virtually absent in Zorn’s oeuvre.

Nyholm’s adulation of Zorn, however, went beyond painterly genius. Instead, much of it can be traced to prevailing Swedish aesthetics which then, as today, were little understood beyond the Sweden itself. For Nyholm and the other students at Konstnärsförbundet’s art school, Sweden in the 1890s was at last assuming what they viewed to be its rightful place as a major force in virtually all aspects of the arts.[17] Epitomizing this was Anders Zorn - talented, erudite, and immensely self-assured. Well-traveled and already basking in international renown, Zorn, at thirty-one years of age in 1891, was uncontested as Sweden’s foremost artist, symbolizing, as he did, the individual spirit and unbridled genius inherent in the Swedish psyche. But Zorn had other qualities which appealed to his Swedish contemporaries: his roots lay deeply embedded in the soil of Dalarna, a central Swedish province which historically denoted stubborn individualism and tenacious folk ways and which today, just as at then, epitomizes the soul of rural Sweden.[18]

For Nyholm, city-born and six years younger than Zorn, the master painter from a remote village Dalarna embodied a set of Swedish cultural values to which Nyholm, a child of his times, readily adhered. Zorn, for his part, saw in Nyholm not only a student who sought to follow his own stylistic conventions but a young man who possessed passion and talent, especially for portraiture. It is therefore no coincidence that in later years Anders Zorn recommended Nyholm for portrait commissions which Zorn, himself, could not undertake.[19] Though the teacher-student relationship between Zorn and Nyholm continued, a spirit of friendship, confidence and camaraderie gradually emerged and, ultimately, in later years, the men came to regard one another as colleagues as well as friends.

Indisputably a work which most closely recalls the aesthetics of Anders Zorn is an untitled painting in the Augustana College Art Collection that shows a young woman clad in a parish costume from Dalarna. Titled A Young Lady Sewing, the figure sits with a thimble (fingerborg) on her finger and stitches the collar of a Dalecarlian winter coat. The dark, log wall behind her and the warm colors of her decorative hat, vest and shawl create an intimate, rustic environment of the type that Zorn made famous. The lighting is sharp and focused; the palette is warm; and the mood is tranquil. The lady’s countenance exudes contentment and health; her lips suggest, ever so slightly, a smile.[20] In virtually every aspect of this painting, Nyholm has paid homage to Anders Zorn.

In late autumn 1891, Nyholm left Stockholm to pursue a career in New York. The reason for his departure is unknown, though “America fever” no doubt played a role in his decision.[21] Unlike many Swedish immigrants reaching America in the 1890s, Nyholm did not immediately proceed to a destination in the Midwest or Pacific Northwest. He chooses instead to settle in New York, no doubt assuming the huge East Coast metropolis would offer better prospects for an artist specializing in portraiture and landscapes.[22] Unfortunately, there are few references to his first years in this country, although it appears he, like so many other immigrants, needed time to acclimate to a new language and culture. This is suggested in a terse 1909 reference which states “the way to success was difficult and long…in order to provide for his family, Nyholm for a number of years had to seek his livelihood through executing ‘crayon drawings’.”[23] The article goes on to say that in spite of his difficulties, Nyholm never ceased in his artistic endeavors.[24] Instead, he acquired an atelier, taught drawing and painting, took commissions and, by the end of his sojourn in New York, appears to have achieved a substantial degree of success.[25] In November 1897, for example, his painting, Summer Day (location unknown), was selected to be shown in the National Academy of Design’s annual Autumn Exhibition. The following year, another of his works was displayed, this time an oil titled Village Street – Autumn (location unknown).[26]

Many biographical studies state Nyholm was a member of the National Academy, however, there is no record to this.[27] Being as conversant in watercolors as oils, Nyholm also exhibited, on at least one occasion with the New York Watercolor Club.[28] According to a catalogue, dated 1902-03, Nyholm entered two paintings in the Club’s 13th Annual Exhibition, Thunderclouds and Shadows and Moonlight, works that were displayed in the Vanderbilt Gallery together with entries by Childe Hassam (1859-1935).[29]

Throughout his stay in New York, Nyholm maintained close contacts with his countrymen. Anders Zorn, for instance, made seven well-publicized trips to the United States between 1893 and 1911 and each time renewed acquaintances with old friends, former pupils and fellow artists.[30] Visits with Nyholm were doubtlessly included in Zorn’s itinerary, though, prior to 1906, records supporting this fact are lacking.[31] In 1893-1894, for instance, Zorn spent several “especially enchanting weeks” in New York where he made many acquaintances and where he made a portrait study of Henry Marquad and painted portraits of George Bend, the Schiffs and the Hildreths.[32] It is consequently inconceivable that Nyholm, as Zorn’s student and admirer, did not, in some way, contact his famous mentor. It is just as unlikely that Zorn would spend time in New York without looking up one of his most promising students. Zorn was back in New York during his 1896-1897 visit and again in 1898-1899 and 1900-1901. By 1907, however, it is clear the two men were not only in contact with one another, but that Zorn was fully aware of Nyholm’s successes as a portrait painter. On at least one occasion, at the Art Institute of Chicago, Zorn made public reference to Nyholm’s artistic competence, a sincere and gracious gesture which doubtlessly in part was intended to insure future commissions for his one-time student.[33]

Nyholm’s contacts with Zorn also included two visits with Zorn in Sweden; the first in 1906 when Nyholm stayed and painted with his teacher in Mora, experiencing first-hand, as he did, Zorn, the wealthy, rural patriarch and the rich National Romantic milieu which Zorn had created for himself.[34] Nyholm’s second visit occurred six years later, in the summer of 1912. On that occasion, Nyholm found Zorn in the Swedish Archipelago where, in an embodiment of belle epoque, the Swedish artist was enjoying the warm Scandinavian summer, relaxing and painting aboard his luxurious yacht.[35] Nyholm also visited Sweden in 1920 in conjunction with the touring exhibit, American Painters of Swedish Descent. No mention, however, is made of a visit with Anders Zorn.

Nyholm was not the only Swedish artist residing in New York City in the 1890s. His friend from Brolin’s studio in Stockholm, Henry Reuterdahl had also ended up in New York (1896) and was had embarked on a highly successful illustrating career.[36] Emil Gelhaar (1861-1934), a landscape and portrait painter was there too, though his stay lasted only until 1895 when he accepted a position as Director of the School of Fine Arts at The Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[37] Another Swedish artist, August Franzén, resided and worked in New York also and, like Reuterdahl, became a well-known illustrator and painter. Though the frequency of contacts between these artists during the 1890s is unknown, they obviously enjoyed professional links with one another, an interaction which increased after the turn-of-the-century through their involvement with Chicago’s Swedish Club and its annual art exhibits from 1911 on.[38]

In 1903 Nyholm and his wife Amelie moved to Chicago, where he immediately established himself as a professional artist within the Swedish community.[39] Indeed, he wasted little time in securing connections with the city’s Swedish Club and it was probably there that he met Carl Nilsson (1867-1940), Hugo von Hofsten (1865-1947) and Charles Edward Hallberg (1855-1940), Swedish immigrant artists like himself. Together, in February 1905, they conceived the idea of creating an organization whose purpose, among other things, would be “to make Swedish art further known and respected in America.”[40] Elected secretary of the group,[41] which they called the Swedish-American Art Association, Nyholm immediately set to work arranging the first exhibition scheduled to run from October 23 until November 5 at Anderson’s Art Galleries at 178 Wabash Avenue in Chicago.[42] The event was well organized and included more than eighty works by some nineteen artists. Yet, to its coordinators’ chagrin, the show proved to be of more interest to Americans in Chicago than to the city’s Swedes. No sooner had the show closed, than calls were heard for disbanding the Association. Meager sales, accumulated debts, and a deep disillusionment with Chicago’s Swedes and their response to an exhibition which had “brought honor to the… represented Swedish-American and Swedish artists,” made it clear the Swedish-American Art Association could not survive.[43] Nyholm himself, substantially down on his finances, had spirited out of town to join a small group of “picture fakirs” in making copies of paintings in Winnipeg, Canada.[44] Within a few weeks the Association was dissolved. Its existence had spanned just nine frenetic months.

Though understandably disappointed by the demise of an organization that he was instrumental in organizing, Nyholm could nonetheless count be proud of his efforts. Ten of his works had appeared in the show;[45] his oil painting, A Self-Portrait (location unknown), had been awarded second prize; and he had been given wide, positive exposure in the Chicago press.[46] However, Nyholm was not one to ruminate on his losses; he had a good business sense and he knew he must exhibit both frequently and outside the Swedish community if he was to succeed as a professional artist in cosmopolitan Chicago. He joined the Palette and Chisel Club in 1905 and, a short time later, he became a member of the Chicago Watercolor Club and the Chicago Society of artists. In fact, during his career, Nyholm remained active in various new organizations as they were formed including the Association of Chicago Painters and Sculptors and the Chicago Galleries Association. Indeed, in the twenty-four years Nyholm resided in Chicago, he is known to have shown his work in no fewer than fifty-eight exhibitions, most of which were held in the Chicago area.[47] Nyholm was especially conscientious in submitting works for events arranged by the Art Institute, and rarely did a year pass, from 1905 on, when Nyholm’s name did not appear among the entrants in the Institute’s annual exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity. Frequently his entries were reviewed in both the Chicago Evening Post and Chicago Record-Herald. On at least nine occasions, photographs of his works were illustrated in local newspapers.[48]

By 1908, Nyholm had established his reputation as a first-rate portrait painter. His portrayals of General W.D. Whipple (West Point Academy, 1903), painter Charles Hallberg (unlocated, 1905),[49] A Portrait of a Man (unlocated, 1905), The Novelette (1905), Self-Portrait (1905), Girl in a Swedish Costume (unlocated, 1907), and Portrait of a Little Girl (unlocated, 1908), elicited both attention and approbation in the Chicago press. Many of these earliest portraits, however, were of individuals in the Swedish community, one exception being the portrait of General Whipple, a posthumous work requested by his family after the general’s death in 1902. The painting measures forty-four by thirty-one inches and is still found in the West Point Military Academy. The dashing portrait depicts Whipple in formal military attire, replete with medals, sash and saber. In depicting this highly regarded veteran of the Civil War - Whipple served with distinction in the Atlanta Campaign and was made Brevet Brigadier General (1865) - Nyholm renders a likeness which is at once both realistic and monumental, yet which nevertheless betrays the artist’s love of impressionist brush work. How and why the painting was commissioned is unknown, though it is obvious Nyholm demonstrated his superb maturity as a portraitist.[50]

In 1907, a year after Nyholm visited Anders Zorn in Mora, Zorn returned to Chicago where he lectured at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and, while there, he took the opportunity to praise Nyholm’s talent as a gifted portrait artist.[51] The Swedish painter was well known in Chicago and his endorsement must have been greatly appreciated by Nyholm whose own achievements as a portrait artist were gaining attention. It should also be noted that sometime during the period 1907-1908, Nyholm met Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Carpenter, well-to-do benefactors of the arts in Des Moines, Iowa. In the years immediately following, the Carpenters became two of Nyholm’s most ardent supporters. Through frequent exhibitions and growing contacts within the upper crust of the American community,  during the next seven years, Nyholm acquired a number of major portrait commissions including portrayals of William Carpenter (Mayor of Des Moines) 1909, James Wilson (U.S. Secretary of Agriculture) 1910, Edwin A. Potter (President of the American Trust and Savings Company, Chicago) c.1910, and O. A. Eberhart ( Governor of Minnesota) 1914.[52] In what must have been a particularly gratifying series of purchases, Nyholm received orders in 1913 for portraits of three Beloit College alumni; namely Professor Joseph Emerson (As a Young Man), Dr. Asher W. Curtis, and Dr. Thomas Christie. Mrs. Joseph Emerson, long-time curator of the Beloit College art collection, arranged the order.[53] It is safe to assume that it was also Mrs. Emerson who initiated the college’s acquisition of Nyholm’s first prize winner in the 1912 Swedish American Artists Exhibit, Around the Evening Lamp. Sometimes referred to as A Family Circle, the painting was purchased for Beloit College through a group calling itself “Friends for the Beloit College Art Hall.” This painting, like several other domestic scenes, portrays two members of the artist’s family seated around a large lamp on a table whose warm glow creates an artificial luminescence set against deep shadows and rich highlights of color. The effect is one of warmth, intimacy and security, a testimony to the values of home and family. Unfortunately, the college can no longer account for this very important work.[54]

Though Nyholm made three trips to Europe, his travels within the United States were restricted largely to the Midwest.[55] His outdoor painting excursions, when they occurred, rarely took him far from Chicago and his family.[56] On several occasions, however, Nyholm visited Des Moines, Iowa, the first time in 1909 when Mrs. J.S. Carpenter, through the city’s Women’s Club, arranged an exhibition of approximately fifty works by Nyholm, Emil Gelhaar and Charles Edward Hallberg.[57] How and where Nyholm met Mrs. Carpenter is not recorded, though it is obvious that from 1909 on, Nyholm and the Carpenters enjoyed a close friendship. Not only did J.S. Carpenter take painting lessons from Nyholm, but also Nyholm may well have assisted Carpenter in selecting works of art to purchase for his private collection.[58] By 1912, the Carpenters are known to have owned no fewer than five portraits by Nyholm. In addition, they purchased one of the artist’s Swedish motifs, A Little Dalecarlian Girl (location unknown).[59] They also acquired The Lamp (location unknown), an interior scene depicting members of the Carpenter family as they sat in their drawing room.[60] Later in 1909, Nyholm returned to Des Moines and, together with J.S. Carpenter and Emil Gelhaar, set off to paint Native Americans on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In what must have been a curious sight to the local Sioux, the two Swedish artists and their wealthy patron made their trek across the reservation in a covered wagon to set up an impromptu atelier in the home of the former Indian agent, Charles P. Jordan. It was later recounted in a newspaper article Nyholm offered sitters fifty cents an hour and once word of his generosity spread, “Jordan’s home was thronged with Indians dressed in their brightest colors.”[61] Nyholm’s Rosebud sojourn is said to have lasted a week and produced eight portraits (all locations unknown).[62]

Nyholm’s liaison with the Carpenters did not stop with the painting excursion to South Dakota. In May 1912, Nyholm accompanied J. S. and his wife on what was billed as a “summer trip” to Europe. Understandably, Nyholm began his stay with a visit to Sweden and like many Swedish-Americans, it can be assumed he remained in there at least through midsommer (June 21). Midsommer was a particularly evocative time of the year when Swedes, in adhering to timeless, atavistic traditions, pay special homage to nature, country and culture. It was probably sometime just after Midsummer that he visited Anders Zorn who was on his boat in the Swedish archipelago and for whom leisurely cruises among the islands and holms (the word “holm,” means a small island or headland) along Sweden’s East coast were one of his greatest pleasures.[63] Later, Nyholm journeyed south, met up with the Carpenters in France, and spent the rest of his European sojourn sightseeing and providing J. S. with painting instruction.[64] It is suggested the two men were working out of doors by the fact that the following year at least four of Nyholm’s entries in the Works by Swedish-American Artists exhibition involved French subjects; namely, The Old Fountain, A Bit of the Village, In the Sunshine - Brittany, and The Old Farm House.[65]

The Carpenters were not the only ones to energetically support Nyholm and his art. Through his involvement in the Swedish Club of Chicago, Nyholm met and became close friends with Charles and Thyra Peterson, two of the city’s most cultivated and well-to-do Swedish-Americans.[66] Deeply committed to furthering the Swedish cultural presence in Chicago, Peterson, as president of the city’s Swedish Club, presided over the organization at a time when it reached an unprecedented height in its growth and cultural influence.[67] Peterson was intensely committed to the arts, especially painting. This interest readily coalesced with the aspirations of Nyholm and Charles Hallberg whose own hopes for another exhibition of Swedish-American art were still very much alive. Through the “energy and generous financial support” of Peterson, and Nyholm, Hallberg, as exhibit coordinators, a series of Swedish-American art shows was initiated on an annual basis (except during the Great Depression and World War II; in 1949 the exhibits became biannual) that ultimately spanned more than five decades (1911-1964).[68]

Peterson was doubtlessly gratified by the assistance he had received from Hallberg and Nyholm. A notice in the Chicago Evening Post praised the two for “hanging a worthy gathering” in what was billed “the most important (exhibition) of its kind ever given in Chicago.”[69] Nyholm’s role appears to have been significant; not only was he closely involved in the logistics, but he also served on both the selection jury and the hanging committee. Of the more than eighty paintings displayed, Nyholm entered eight works including The Novelette (A Girl Reading), Portrait of Charles Hallberg and Self-Portrait, the latter receiving second prize.[70] The Novelette was cited in the 1911 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences as “one of the most beautiful paintings in modern times.”[71]

Immediately after the 1911 exhibit, Peterson, Nyholm and Hallberg began planning another show for the following year. Nyholm, who had just recently completed a portrait of the inventor John Ericsson for The Swedish-American Republican League of Illinois, agreed that the Ericsson portrait, together with Henry Reuterdahl’s Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, should serve as historic fix points in the 1912 Swedish Club exhibit.[72] As things turned out, the second Exhibition of Works by Swedish-American Artists proved every bit as successful as the previous one; there were ninety-eight entries (by twenty-eight artists), which, according to Birger Sandzén, were characterized by “a certain freshness, spirit and independence.”[73] While Sandzén made little note of the show’s Swedish character, the writer of a review in the Chicago Record-Herald described the exhibit as reflecting “more strongly the influence of the mother country than of the adopted one,” particularly in the paintings “uncompromising approach to nature as decoration…whether depicting American scenery or Swedish.”[74] The article then went on to cite especially meritorious works, beginning with Nyholm’s “spirited’ portrait of Fabian Söderblom and his genre scene, A Family Circle, which was praised for its use of light and color.[75] A large photograph of the Söderblom portrait accompanied the review. Two months after the March 1912 Swedish Club show, Nyholm left with the Carpenters for his summer sojourn in Europe.

For Nyholm, the years following the first two Swedish-American show can be seen as a watershed of opportunities. From that point on, Nyholm’s name appeared among the entrants in virtually every show arranged by the Chicago Swedish Club and the Chicago Art Institute.[76] In a letter to Birger Sandzen, Nyholm expressed his efforts to improve upon an already good Swedish-American annual exhibition.[77] More often than not, he juried the Swedish Club shows, and, by 1915, thanks to the success of his portrait of Greta, he also began serving on jury committees for the Artists of Chicago and Vicinity exhibitions at the Institute.[78] Though financial considerations always had to be reckoned with Nyholm became firmly established as a member of Chicago’s art community and, as a professional painter of portraits during this period. He enjoyed not only notoriety, awards and acclaim, but also frequent sales.[79] It was undoubtedly a source of great personal pride when his portrait of John Ericsson (1912), was hung in the National Museum of Art in Washington D.C. What is more, another of his portraits, The Novelette (1905), had been proclaimed “one of the most beautiful paintings of modern times.”[80] Time and time again, his paintings procured awards and public acclaim. In 1913, for instance, in addition to the several landscapes he entered in the Works by Swedish American Artists exhibition, Nyholm produced both The Yellow Lamp and Motherly Cares (locations unknown). The latter painting was a watercolor and depicted one of his daughters dressed in a Swedish costume sitting at a table sewing clothes for her doll.[81] It was in 1913 the artist also received a commission to paint a portrait of his friend and supporter Charles S. Peterson, a work that is now in the collection of Småland’s Museum in Växjö, Sweden.[82] It was later, in December 1913, Nyholm, together with Charles Hallberg, Hugo von Hofsten and Alfred Jansson, exhibited at the W. Scott Thurber Art Galleries in Chicago. Nyholm displayed seven canvasses, five of which were apparently done during his European trip the year before.[83] In a Chicago Evening Post article, Nyholm is described as having “an enviable reputation for portraiture” and, together with his three colleagues, was said to be an ardent supporter of Swedish-American exhibitions and one who frequently exhibited with the Chicago Society of Artists. According to the same source, the Thurber Art Galleries exhibit was the first time the men ever displayed their works on Michigan Avenue.[84]Some of his most accomplished canvases during this highly productive period included The Yellow Lamp Shade (1913), Charles Peterson (1913), Dorothy (1914), Greta (1915), Home from the Market (1916), The Chinese Coat (1919) and Dr. Walter Haines (1919) (all locations unknown).[85] By the end of the decade, he had painted many of this country’s leading business magnates and political luminaries. Around this same time Nyholm was honored as one of six Swedish American artists who were selected to produce frescoes for the lunettes in the main hall of Chicago’s Swedish Club. The theme was American history, and the role Swedes had played in it. Nyholm’s contribution was John Morton Signing the Declaration of Independence.[86]

In Swedish language publications of the period, Nyholm was often referred to as a devoted family man and, indeed, he and Amelie, together with their children, were often viewed in terms of what at the time exemplified familial stability, harmony, and tranquility.[87] The Nyholms loved children, a fact which frequently can be seen in his paintings Portrait of a Little Girl (1908), My Daughter (1909), Motherly Cares (1913), Dorothy (1914) and an untitled portrait (1926) (all unlocated). The children in his paintings were often his own, and invariably they are portrayed in contexts that exuded a warm, convivial environment bearing distinctly Swedish overtones.[88] At times his children are shown in “old country” garb, such as Girl in a Swedish Costume (1907) and Motherly Cares (1913). Even when the children were older, they posed for paintings, as exemplified in his much-touted Greta, which dates to 1915. He frequently clad his models in Dalecarlian garb. Some of his best examples were Girl with a Lute (undated, location unknown, illustrated in Karl Hildebrand and Axel Fredenholm, editors, Svenskarna I Amerika, Vol. 2, Stockholm: Historiska Förlaget, 1925, p.176), Home from the Market (Efter torguppköpen) (1916, location unknown), Brita (1917, Riksföreningen Sverigekontakt, Gothenburg), and A Young Lady Sewing (1925, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois).[89]

Nyholm’s reliance on Swedish-American subject matter was probably, at least partially, a subconscious effort to legitimize Swedish family values in America.[90] Though his painterly style and his preference for portraiture link him indelibly to Anders Zorn, Nyholm’s love of family scenes - often involving quiet, sheltered, middle-class interior settings juxtaposed with traditional parish costumes and other Swedish elements - suggests an attitude toward life, a Weltanschauung, which, in its celebration of the Swedish home and family, differs only in degree and locality from that of his contemporary Carl Larsson.[91] Nyholm, of course, knew Larsson’s paintings and illustrations well, and while the two artists differed profoundly in their stylistic approach, nonetheless, there remained strong parallels in the cultural messages which were conveyed through their work.

Just as Carl Larsson painted his wife Karin, Nyholm portrayed Amelie. But while Larsson’s depictions are invariably set in the light, sun-filled environment of Sundborn, Nyholm’s portrayals of Amelie usually occur as quiet, interior domestic settings which emit a sense of middle-class serenity and well-being. One such portrayal is found in the collection of the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Small in format (fourteen by seventeen inches) entitled The Letter, the canvas depicts Amelie Nyholm sitting at her writing desk, momentarily lost in thought as she composes a letter. Sunlight pours in from the window above, illuminating Amelie’s face, collar and hands and heightening the dramatic importance of an activity that is otherwise as mundane as it is contemplative. Nyholm has given the painting a title that evokes Romantic associations; indeed, this portrayal of Amelie might well represent a letter home - a so-called Amerikabrev - which for family and friends in the “Old Country” represented a vital link with those who immigrated to the New World.[92] Conversely, The Letter might even be synonymous with Nyholm’s “Billet doux” (The Love Letter). The latter work cannot at present be accounted for, though it was listed as one of the works that Nyholm sent to Sweden in 1920 as part of the American Artists of Swedish Descent exhibit.[93]

At the end of the decade, Nyholm became embroiled in a controversy stemming from his success and its accordant duties of sitting on juries for competitive exhibitions. Judging the works of others carried with it the potential for criticism, an eventuality that ultimately occurred during the Artists of Chicago and Vicinity show of 1919 at the Art Institute. In his capacity as jury chairman, Nyholm, together with his fellow jurors, sculptor Emil R. Zettler, and painters Henry Leon Roecker (1860-1941), Alfred Juergens (1866-1934) and Wilson Irvine (1869-1936), decided first prize should be awarded to Frank A. Werner (1877-1953) for his portrait of famed Chicago architect Louis H. Sullivan. The decision, meanwhile, was not unanimous and the ugly dispute that ensued in the press echoed accusations of jury bias, favoritism and “German propaganda.”[94] While the harshest criticism seems to have been directed toward Zettler, Roecker and Juergens, Nyholm cannot but have suffered deep, personal indignation in having his jury decision openly discussed in the media and his committee publicly tainted by scandal. Nyholm’s own thoughts on the matter have gone unrecorded, though he undoubtedly felt a degree of vindication in not only securing the guarded support of George W. Eggers, Director of the Art Institute, but also in seeing his own entry in the exhibition, a portrait of Dr. Walter Haines (of Rush Medical College) “ranked first in the estimation of many artists.”[95] The suggestion of impropriety nonetheless took its toll, and it is significant that Nyholm never again chaired a jury. Later the same year, Nyholm exhibited The Chinese Coat in the Works by Swedish American Artists exhibit at the Swedish Club. This painting, which is one of Nyholm’s most successful works, was not only well-received but was also used as an illustration in the exhibition catalog.[96]

Putting the scandal of the previous year behind him, Nyholm returned to Sweden in the summer of 1920 in company of Svenska Chicagokören (The Swedish Choral Club of Chicago). Nyholm’s role, however, was anything but musical; he had accompanied the choir so as to represent Chicago and the Swedish Club in conjunction with the first traveling exhibition of Swedish-American art to visit Sweden. Organized and underwritten by Charles Peterson, this show -- the American Artists of Swedish Heritage Exhibit -- entailed one hundred paintings and lithographs by forty artists.[97] Beginning in May at the National Academy of Design in New York, the exhibit went on to Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg and ultimately concluded at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Nyholm’s own contribution to the show was substantial; he was one of twenty-six individuals who assisted Peterson in arranging the exhibition and, together with James Allen St. John (1872-1957), Gordon Saint Clair (1885-1966), Antonin Sterba (1875-1963) and Hugo von Hofsten, he juried the show when it hung in Chicago.[98] His own entries included a chronological portrayal of Nyholm’s career.[99] Part of this group was his Greta, a portrait of his eldest daughter which had earlier won the popular picture prize, sponsored by Chicago artist and patron Flora I. Schofield (1871-1960), in the 1915 Artists of Chicago and Vicinity show as well as the Mrs. William Ormonde Thompson Prize in the same show.[100] In addition, it had garnered first prize in the exhibit of Works by Swedish-American Artists,[101] also in 1915.[102] Greta again received widespread publicity when it was used to illustrate the show both in the Chicago Tribune and in the American-Scandinavian Review.[103] Given the earlier successes of The Novelette and Greta in America, these two paintings were logical choices for the tour to Sweden.[104] Fifty-four years of age and seemingly in excellent health, Nyholm had no idea this would be his last trip to Sweden.

Unfortunately, there is no documentation suggesting that Anders Zorn was able to see the exhibit of Swedish-American art when it was in Stockholm, even though he undoubtedly knew of the exhibit and would have liked to have seen it.[105] Indeed, had Zorn made the journey from Mora to see the show, Nyholm would definitely have been on hand to meet him and would also have made public references to the meeting upon returning to the United States. Nor does it seem that Nyholm visited Zorn in Mora as he had done fourteen years earlier, in the summer of 1906. This, however, does not rule out the possibility that he contacted Zorn, given the latter’s failing health.[106]

In 1923, Charles Peterson underwrote another traveling exhibit to Sweden, this time in celebration of the Gothenburg tercentenary. Again, Nyholm was involved in arranging the show and, as before, served as a member of the selection jury. On this occasion, one hundred and eight paintings by forty-six artists were displayed in an exhibit that ran from May 8 to September 30. Nyholm, however, only exhibited two canvases, a self-portrait and a painting of Minnesota’s former governor Adolf O. Eberhart.[107] Whether these works represented canvases which he, himself, viewed as being two of his best, or whether they were simply accessible for exhibiting, has gone unrecorded.

Nyholm continued to enjoy several portrait commissions and other success including Marshall Field & Company’s decision to illustrate his painting Interior, California Bungalow (1923). During the 1920s, though, Nyholm became a favored artist for the venerable Saddle and Sirloin club that included all the city’s wealthy meat packers. His first known portraits for the club were of F. Edson White and A. MacNeilage.[108] By 1927 he had painted enough portraits of club members to have a one-man exhibition at the club in conjunction with the International Livestock Exposition.[109]

His works were featured in 1925 at the O’Brien & Jacobus Galleries in Chicago and included both etchings and paintings. Grace Ambrose gave the exhibit a glowing review,[110] and his works from the show were illustrated in the important Magazine of the Art World twice.[111]

In 1926 Nyholm painted A Young Girl, a work which he entered in the annual Artists of Chicago and Vicinity show and which appeared in the Chicago Tribune.[112] In fact, throughout the mid-1920s, Nyholm’s works were a regular feature of the newspapers.[113]

From 1922 to 1927, Nyholm received commissions to paint members of the John Nydén family in Philadelphia.[114] He also juried a number of shows including the annual Works by Swedish-American Artists at the Swedish Club in Chicago (1923, 1924, 1925, 1926), Artists of Chicago and Vicinity (1921, 1922) at the Art Institute, Chicago’s Bohemian Art Club (1926), Chicago Galleries Association Semiannual Exhibition (1926), and the Hoosier Salon (1927). Indeed, the same year Nyholm juried the Hoosier Salon, he received an award of $250 from the Chicago Art Galleries Association.[115]

Although Nyholm’s active participation in Chicago’s art circles continued unabated, his health in the late 1920s declined markedly. One is struck by the fact that during his last two years of life, at a time when his physical condition became increasingly precarious, the artist doggedly insisted on painting, exhibiting, and serving on juries. Finally, in June 1927, after long periods of discomfort, Nyholm underwent exploratory surgery, the results of which determined he was suffering from advanced stomach cancer.[116] Six months later, on November 14, Arvid Fredrik Nyholm passed away; he was sixty-one years of age. In what was certainly an apt yet understated assessment of the artist’s death, Oliver Linder observed Nyholm had departed this earth “in the midst of his best and most mature productivity.”[117] Surviving were his wife, Amelie, six children, innumerable friends and supporters, not to mention a truly prodigious corpus of portraits, genre motifs and landscapes. His passing also left a discernible void in the world of Swedish-American art in Chicago, and it is no coincidence that after 1927, in absence of his drive and enthusiasm, the frequency of art exhibits at the Swedish Club declined markedly.[118]

Arvid Fredrik Nyholm was an artist of great ability. His keen eye for mood, detail and momentary impression, particularly in his portraiture, reveals an aesthetic virtuosity that periodically rivaled that of the most accomplished painters of the early twentieth century. Yet, as with many foreign-born and foreign-trained artists of his generation, Nyholm’s place within the spectrum of American art is difficult to gage. Unlike fellow Swedish immigrant artists like Birger Sandzén, Henry Reuterdahl, and Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947) who developed highly personalized styles within the fabric of American aesthetics, Nyholm consciously adhered to the painterly tenets he had learned during his student years in Sweden under the instruction of Anders Zorn. In style, subject and inclination, Nyholm always remained unabashedly Swedish, and it is herein that his work, when viewed against the backdrop of late nineteenth/ early twentieth century American art, constitutes a striking dichotomy. Active and well-liked within Chicago art circles and drawing most of his income through commissions from well-situated Americans, Nyholm, time and again, easily transcended the limitations of his immigrant background, particularly in the realm of portraiture, the genre for which he was best-known and in which he was most accomplished. However, in spite of his many successes and contacts in American society, Nyholm always remained predisposed toward his own ethnic community. It was this allegiance which has ultimately dictated his legacy not as an American artist, but as an artist from Sweden whose sense of identity lay inextricably fixed within the cultural embrace of Swedish-America.

[1]Birger Sandzén, “Något om svensk konst I Amerika,” Prärieblomman, 1902, p.110. Here in describing Nyholm’s special brand of humor, Sandzén states: “Huru ofta höllo vi på att kikna af skratt, när Nyholm med makalös dramatisk talang berättade en af sina tokroliga historier.” Translated: “How often we almost choked of laughter when Nyholm, with incomparable dramatic talent related one of his uproarious stories.”

[2]According to the information provided by Amelie Nyholm for Arvid’s death certificate in 1927, Amaliea Wahlberg Nyholm was born in Stockholm as was also Arvid’s father. Standard Certificate of Death, no. 30928, Department of Public Health – Division of Vital Statistics, Cook County, Chicago, 11/15/1927.

[3]A. Schön, “Svensk-Amerikanska Konstnärer,” Ungdomsvännen, 1905, p.238.

[4]Op. cit., Ungdomsvännen, 1905, p.238.

[5]Andreas Johan Brolin (1844-1926) studied in Stockholm and London and later worked as a stage painter in Königsberg and Stettin. In 1881 he was hired in the same capacity by both the Royal Opera and the Royal Dramatic theatre in Stockholm. In addition to teaching decorative painting, he is known to have done considerable fresco painting. Svenskt konstnärslexikon, Vol. 1, (Malmö: Allhems Förlag, 1952), p.246.

[6]Carl Gustaf Krehl (1860-1899) was an accomplished painter and graphic artist who was best-known for his figural compositions and genre subjects. Svenskt konstnärslexikon, Vol. 3, (Malmö: Allhems Förlag, 1950), p.404. Like Nyholm, Krehl was born and raised in Stockholm. He had just completed his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts when Arvid Nyholm enrolled for studio lessons with him in 1889.

[7]Described by Nyholm as a lanky youth who, at the time, actually demonstrated little predisposition for art, Reuterdahl later emigrated and achieved both fame and influence as a painter/illustrator in the United States. It is stated, for instance, that, had it not been for Henry Reuterdahl’s keen interest in naval matters – he was the official painter for the United States Navy – and his published criticism of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels for this country’s lack of naval preparedness, the United States would not have been ready for the rigors of marine warefare during World War I. Ernst W. Olson, “Svensk konst I Amerika,” Svenskarna I Amerika, Vol. II, Karl Hildebrand, ed., (Stockholm: Historiska förlaget, 1925), pp.240-241. It is not clear exactly when Nyholm first met Reuterdahl, though chances are good the two men at least knew of one another as early as 1886-1887 when they were studying at Tekniska. Their paths separated, however, after Nyholm left Krehl’s tutelage in 1890. Reuterdahl subsequently began illustrating for some of Sweden’s leading periodicals: Ny illustrerad tidning, Hemvännen and Svea. It was through the latter publication that he was sent to Chicago in 1893 to cover the World’s Fair (World’s Columbian Exposition). In 1896 Reuterdahl moved to New York where he began his successful American career. At that time, Nyholm was also in New York and it’s a certainty that the two men were in contract. That the friendship between the two artists continued, is suggested in the fact that, in subsequent years, both men frequently exhibited their works in shows arranged by the Swedish Club in Chicago.

[8]It is interesting to note that the Nyholm’s eschewed a church wedding, choosing instead a civil ceremony. Outline of Personal History of Arvid Nyholm, The Historical Department of Iowa, State Historical Scoiety of Iowa, 1917.

[9]Konstnärsförbundet was formally organized in August 1886 as an oppositinon organization to the Academy. Its early members included some of what in the following decade would become household names in Swedish art: Ernst Josephson (1851-9106), Carl Larsson (1853-1919), Karl Nordström (1855-1923), Richard Bergh (1858-1919), Per Hasselberg (1850-1894) and Bruno Liljefors (1860-1939). By 1890, works by these “opponents” were at last gainging reluctant acceptance by Swedish society, as well as by the Academy, and within a few short years these artists had virtually transformed Swedish tastes in art.

[10]Birger Sandzén typified the students’ respect for the master from Dalarna: “We see that we have in Zorn not an ordinary person. How brilliant and original he is in every inch. He is directly opposite to the customary and ordinary… Zorn is a phenomenon. We are of course delighted. And how friendly and good Zorn is, he who is praised by all Europe.” Emory Lindquist, Birger Sandzén: An Illustrated Biography, (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1993), p.10.

[11]Arvid Nyholm, “Anders Zorn – the Artist and the Man,” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 31, 1914, p.473.

[12]Op. cit., Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 31, 1914, p.473.

[13]Here, in a truly prodigious study of Konstnärsförbundet, Sixten Stromömbom states that the first group of students assembled in the fall of 1890 to paint in an atelier on Norra Smedjegatan. He goes on to say that due to the increasing number of students, a larger studio was acquired the following year on Mästersamuelsgatan. Strömbom, however, laments that lists of students have long since disappeared and, consequently, he is unable to name the earliest enrollees. Sixten Strömbom, Natinoalromantik och radikalism: konstnärsförbundets historia 1891-1920, (Uddevalla: Albert Bonniers Förlag, 1965), p.371. Fortunately, Birger Sandzén’s recollections in “Något om svensk konst I Amerika,” included frequent references to his student friends at Konstnärsförbundet’s art school in 1891, thereby providing a tabulation of at least those who subsequently immigrated to North America. Prärieblomman, 1902, pp.110-111, 115-116.

[14]Though less flamboyant than Zorn, Bergh and Hasselberg were renowned for thneir work and, correspondingly, were greatly respected by their students. Sandzén, for instance, found Bergh “very critical and severe,” yet “…one of the greatest philosophers and scholars in art and a wonderful painter.” Hasselberg, according to Sandzén, was a “gentle and kind person but an exacting teacher who maintained high standards.” Op. cit., Lindquist, Birger Sandzén: An Illustrated Biography, p.11. But it was Zorn who captured the students’ imaginations. Only thirty years old, cosmopolitan and full of enthusiasm, Zorn usually appeard at the studio for at least an hour each day and “it often happened that he, himself, took a canvas and palette in hand and sat down among his students to paint a sketch of the model. At that point interest among the students was electrifying, and everyone gathered behind the great artist so as not to miss a single brush stroke. It did not take long until the model was, in Zorn’s masterly way, reproduced on the canvas, and it was then the task of the students to employ what they had observed.” Op. cit., Ungdomsvännen, August 1905, pp.238-239.

[15]As has already been described, Nyholm was famous for his infectious humor and rollicking stories. Sandzén, by contrast, was far less dramatic, though he possessed a wonderful tenor’s voice and, as Nyholm states, seldom hesitated to express himself in song. Op. cit., Nyholm, Fine Arts Journal, October 1914, pp.473-474.

[16]In many Nyholm biographies, it is stated that the artist’s early training included studies at the Academi Colarossi in Paris. These references cover a wide range of sources, both Swedish and American, and it must therefore be assumed that Nyholm did, in fact, at some point spend time at the famous Parisian art school. However, exactly when this occurred is unknown, although, logically, this visit to France must have transpired sometime between 1888 and 1890. An undated, undocumented newspaper clipping in the Swenson Swedish Research Centers’ Linder Collection at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, implies that Nyholm studied at Colarossi sometime between 1889 and 1890. This date is supported by the information Nyholm supplied in his 1917 “Outline of Personal History,” for The Historical Department of Iowa. Here he indicates, in what seems to be chronological order, that his education included study at the “Royal Academy, Stockholm. Colarossi Academy, Paris. Privately with Anders Zorn.”

[17]The period 1880-1914 in Scandinavia, in many ways, constituted a veritable renaissance in the evolution of Nordic cultural, social and political institutions, a phenomenon in which many Swedes saw their country as the premier participant.

[18]The rural aspects of Zorn’s persona cannot be overstated. In what was a particularly salient observation of the great master, Christian Brinton wrote in 1916, “While it cannot be denied that Anders Zorn has always been cosmopolitan in his proclivities, he, too, was unable to resist the call of his native country, and after a few years constructed at Mora, near his humble birthplace, a spacious timber house where he devoted himself to the depiction of peasant type and scene. You may have met Zorn many times and in many places, yet you do not know him until you have tracked him to this forest-screened retreat by the silver rim of Lake Siljan, which material success has enabled him to embellish after a fashion of a true pricne of art. And however much you may admire his likenesses of society queen or captain of industry, there is no gainsaying the fact that it is at Mora, and still further up country at Gopsmoor sic, where his finest things have been accomplished. The pull of deep-rooted natural forces here draws him toward the very essence of local life and character as they obtain in this still unspoiled community. These canvases in short constitute not alone a precious series of documents relative to the customs and costumes of the sturdy denizens of Dalecarlia Dalarn; they also chant a joyous hymn to bodily health and beauty.” Official Catalog: The Swedish Exhibition, (Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1916), pp.13-14.

[19]Mary Swanson, “Chicago and Swedish-American Artists,” Swedish-American Life in Chicago: Cultural and Urban Aspects of an Immigrant People, 1850-1930, Philip J. Anderson and Dag Blanck editors, (Urbana and Chicago: Uiversity of Illinois Press, 1991), p.155.

[20]If any criticism is to be made of Nyholm’s paintings, it is the artist’s tendency toward idealization, often in his portrayal of young ladies. In many cases, the subject’s smile photogenically, exuding, as they do, a health and physical boyancy that borders on sentimentality. At times they are portrayed in Swedish attire, thereby injecting a strong element of national identity. Home from the Market and Brita discussed later, exemplify this sentimentalizing element in Nyholm’s portraiture.

[21]Of the young artists at Konstnärsförbundet’s art school who ultimately immigrated to America, Nyholm appears to have been one of the first to leave. Franzén is also documented as having left in 1891. The two were followed by Sandzén in 1895, Lotave in 1896, and Ahlm in 1903. By way of context, it should be recalled that America was an extremely popular topic among art students of the period, just as it was in all other spheres of Swedish society. As early as 1886, Jonas Olof Grafström (1857-1933), one of Zorn’s close friends and confidants, gave up what was already a successful career in Sweden for a new and uncertain life in Portland, Oregon. Grafström had been very popular at the Academy, and his departure for America was common knowledge in Swedish art circles. There is also little doubt that, from time to time, he was discussed by Zorn, Bergh, Hasselberg and others who knew him. By 1892, Zorn, himself, was packing his gear for what was to be an immensely successful trip to America as commissioner for the Swedish art exhibit at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition (1893). Gerda Boëthius intimates that even Zorn was smitten by amerikafeber, stating, “Zorn had often dreamed of going to America, and his experiences there showed that his expectations were well founded.” Zorn: Svensk och världsvandrare, (Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren, 1959), p.99. Indeed, to Zorn, the friendliness of Americans, their apparent lack of envy, and the seemingly limitless number of possiblities for success were attributes which he found especially appealing and which made him a fervent supporter of the United States. Zorn’s “America-friendliness” also accounts in part for his close contacts with Swedish-American artists such as Arvid Nyholm.

[22]Op. cit., Ungdomsvönnen, August 1905, p.239.

[23]Undocumented Swedish-language newspaper clipping, Linder Collection, Swenson Swedish Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. (Hereinafter Linder Collection).

[24]Op. cit., clipping, Linder Collection.

[25]If hs home addresses are any indication of his economic circumstances, it should be mentioned that between 1891 and 1902, Nyholm resided in Manhattan, first at 226 West 16th Street and later at 800 Cauldwell Avenue. In 1903 his address  was given as Tomkinsville, on Staten Island. During his later years in New York, Nyholm appears to have had a studio at 47 South Washington Square. Trow’s General Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx: 1894-1895, p.1046; 1902-1903, p.1043; 1903-04, p.952. Given the location of their last home address and the address of  Nyholm’s studio, it would seem that, by the turn-of-the-century, the Nyholms had attained middle class status in their adopted country.

[26]Information supplied by Dr. David Dearinger, Curator, National Academy of Design, 2/5/1999, via Dr. Christine Lilyquist, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[27]In another communication with Dr. Dearinger, via Dr. Lilyquist, 2/5/1999, it was stated that there is no evidence that Nyholm was elected a member of the Academy. Dearinger also mentioned that the autumn exhibitions provided lesser-known artists an annual venu for exhibiting their works.

[28]New York Watercolor Club 1902-1903 Catalog: New York Historical Society, ND 1731, N6, Box 1.

[29]Op. cit., New York Watercolor Club 1902-1903 Catalog: New York Historical Society. Unfortunately the location of these paintings is unknown. Hassam’s entries were Sureness and Canterbury.

[30]Zorn’s first visit to the United States occurred in conjunction with the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Though hampered by the inertia of Swedish officialdom, Zorn, assisted by Carl Larsson, Christian Eriksson and Oscar Björk, and spurred on by Halsey C. Ives, commissioner for the exposition art exhibit, put together an exhibit of Swedish art which, largely, was built from the Konstnärsförbundet’s autumn exhibition of 1892. Thanks as much to Zorn’s social contacts as to the works in the show, Zorn achieved both notoriety and commissions, and out of this grew a very special relationship between Zorn and Chicago’s art community, in particular, the Art Institute of Chicago. Three years later, through the support of the Art Institute, Zorn visited Chicago again, this time in connection with a touring exhibit of modern Swedish art drawn from Zorn’s own extensive collection including works by Richard Bergh, Nils Kreuger, Brunt Liljefors, Karl Nordström, as well as his own. One of Zorn’s most influential supporters in Chicago was Berthe Honoré Palmer, wife of the wealthy hotel owner and merchant, Potter Palmer. An early champion of women’s rights, a well-known socialite and a connoisseur of the arts, Berthe Palmer was selected as “Chairman of the Board of Lady Managers of the Exhibition” for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and it was through her active involvement in the World’s Fair that she met Anders and Emma Zorn. Palmer not only insisted the Zorns stay as guests in her palatial residence on Lake Shore Drive, but she also commissioned a nine by five foot portrait of herself executed in what was described as “the grand style.” Jens Christian Jensen, Anders Zorn, 1860-1920, (Kiel: Prestel-Verlag, 1990), p.61. This work, which today is in the Chicago Art Institute and represents one of Zorn’s largest portraits, depicts Palmer in diadem and pearl necklace, a fact which might well have prompted Emma Zorn’s joking referral to Palmer as “the Queen of America” and “the Empress of Chicago.”  Op. cit. Jensen, Anders Zorn…, p. 60.

[31]In 1906, Nyholm made his first trip back to Sweden and visited Zorn in Mora. Though Nyholm states clearly “he had not seen Zorn for many years,” it is a virtual certainty the two men crossed paths sometime in the 1890s. Zorn’s visits to the United States were inevitably well-publicized affairs, and he is known to have been in New York on several occasions between 1893 and 1898 where, in addition to engaging in an active social life, he executed a number of commissions. Today the Metropolitan Museum of Art has four paintings by Zorn in its collection: Frieda Schiff Mrs. Felix M. Warburg, 1894; Mrs. Walter Rathbone Bacon, 1897; Edward R. Bacon, 1897; and Mrs John Crosby Brown, (undated).

[32]Op. cit., Boëthius, Zorn: Svensk och världsvandrare, pp.99-100.

[33]Op. cit., Undomsvännen, August 1905, p.239. Among other things, it is noted that Zorn, himself, secured portrait commissions for Nyholm. Op. cit., Swanson, Swedish Life in Chicago…, p.155.

[34]'As Nyholm describes in his article “Zorn - the Artist and the Man,” he and Zorn spent long hours painting and talking together with Zorn offering valuable instruction and permitting his guest to peruse his “bulky portfolios filled with drawings, etchings and watercolors from all parts of the globe…” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 31, October 1914, pp.474-475. Before returning to the United States, Nyholm also spent time in Paris where he is said to have executed several portraits. Undocumented Swedish-language newspaper clipping dated 1909, Linder Collection.

[35]In describing his 1912 visit, Nyholm portrays Zorn in a sun-filled environment which is lyrically Swedish and quintessentially Zorn. “It was in one of these idyllic little nooks of the Swedish ‘skerries’ that I found him one summer evening a couple of years ago. The yacht was anchored in a little bay, where its tall mast threw a straight and unbroken shadow in the calm water. Under the sun-tent on deck the master and his models enjoyed their supper after their day’s work. I was most kindly welcomed and invited to be one of the party, and at coffee we had a long and pleasant chat about America, where Zorn has so many friends and admirers and where a great many of his best pictures and portraits have been painted.” Op. cit, Nyholm, Fine Arts Journal, October 1914, pp.478-479.

[36]Reuterdahl’s talent was immediately recognized in New York where he secured illustrating commissions from Harper’s Weekly, Outlook, Scientiflc American, Scribner’s Maqazine and Collier’s Weekly. His love of marine and naval motifs, as depicted in Collier’s, provided him intimate links to the American Navy, and by the first decade of the twentieth century, he was acknowledged as one of this country’s foremost naval artists. Among other things, he served as an official painter with the American fleet during both the Spanish-American War and the First World War. Svensht konstndrslexikon,Vol. 4, (Malmö: Allhems Förlag, 1961), pp.471-472.

[37]Gelhaar enjoyed a modicum of success in the United States - he knew and worked with Robert Henri; he exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1910) and at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition (1915); and his works were well-received at the exhibits arranged by Chicago’s Swedish Club. Like Nyholm, he worked as freely in watercolors as oils, and his range of motifs stretched from tranquil Pennsylvania landscapes to American factories and workers. His career was nonetheless fraught with personal disappointments and financial difficulties which, in the end, precipitated his suicide in November 1934. Op. cit., Svenskt konstnärslexikon, Vol. 2, 1953, p.277.

[38]Like Nyholm, Sandzén and Lotave, Franzén had also been a student at Konstnärsförbundets School in Stockholm. He first came to Illinois in the 1880s, where he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later, after returning to Europe (1885), finally settled in New York about 1891. As an artist, he was known for his illustrative talents as well as for his portraiture and cityscapes. Franzén figured prominently in Swedish-American art circles and was one of the artists represented in the 1905 Swedish-American Art Exhibition in Chicago. Again, though documentation remains unavailable, it is obvious that Franzén and Nyholm knew each other well and considered themselves colleagues. It is also likely that they discussed immigration to America, a fact suggested in that both men left for New York in 1891. Once settled in America’s largest city, there is little question but that they maintained contact with one another.

[39]When Scandinavian immigration to the USA was at its height, c.1880-1910, Chicago was often referred to as “Sweden’s second city” since its Swedish population exceeded that of Gothenburg. Chicago’s Swedish-American community was also one of the most dynamic and could boast not only of a large, active Swedish Club, as well as sundry other Swedish benevolent organizations, but also of Swedish language newspapers and periodicals, Swedish literary groups, a Swedish language theater and host of artists and musicians.

[40]Exactly how the idea for a major exhibit of Swedish art originated is unclear, though there is little doubt Nyholm was a key figure in its conception. It should also be recalled that as early as 1902, Birger Sandzén proposed a major center for Swedish arts and crafts in America. Op. cit., Prärieblomman, 1902, p.108. As for the 1905 exhibit itself, there are a number of descriptions, probably the most detailed of which comes from the pen of Anders Schön and his 1912 article “Den första större svensk-amerikanska utställningen.” In this essay, he describes how the president of the Swedish-American Artists Association, Carl J. Nilsson, together with Nyholm, von Hofsten and others who worked frantically from May to October 1905, in securing participation of nineteen Swedish-born artists and aligning a jury which consisted of Art Institute professors Charles Francis Browne (1859-1920) and John Henry Vanderpoel (1857-1911) as well as newspaper artist William Herman Schmedtgen (1862-1936). Letter to Sandzén from Nyholm, 10/27/1905, Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery archives. A number of works by former members of Konstnärsförbundet included: Gerda Ahlm, Franzén and Sandzén. There were also representative works by contemporary Swedish painters including, Charles Friberg, Anshelm Schultzberg, Brunt Liljefors, Carl Larsson and the venerable Zorn. Yet, while the exhibit commanded an unusually positive response from Americans (the show was so well attended it was extended a week) it unfortunately elicited little response from Chicago’s Swedish citizenry. In putting the best face possible on an embarrassing situation, Schön later rationalized that “for our countrymen in Chicago the exhibition was something so new that they simply did not get around to attending it in the numbers that had been anticipated.” Op. cit., Prärieblomman, 1912, p.126. Chicago newspapers on the other hand praised the show warmly; the Sunday Chicago Record-Herald, for example, stated the exhibition “would prove interesting to artists and others who have learned through displays made recently to admire the originality and strength many of these workers brought to their profession.” Untitled newspaper clipping, 10/29/1905, Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, Vol 21, col. 4, p.99. See also: William Vernon, “Swedish Exposition,” Chicago American, 10/21/1905 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 21, col. 4, p.92. (This edition of the  newspaper was not microfilmed by the Chicago Public Library.)

[41]Letterhead of the organization shows C. J. Nilsson, President; Nyholm, Secretary and Hnery S. henschen, Treasurer. Letter to Birger Sanzen from Nyholm, 9/17/1905, Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery archives.

[42]Op. cit., letter to Sandzen, 9/17/1905: “The Anderson Art Company has remarkable galleries and has promised to do what they can to sell the works.”

[43]As Schön made clear, “the exhibition in quality withstood well comparison with other exhibitions of similar format held in Chicago…” He also stated that both Swedish-American and American newspapers were favorably disposed toward the show. “Den första större svensk-amerikanska utställningen,” op. cit., Prärieblomman, 1912, p.126.

[44]Letter to Birger Sandzén from Nyholm, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 10/27/1905, Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery archives.

[45]Among the works Nyholm entered were Twilight (Skymning), Evening Mood (Aftonstämning), The Novelette and a portrait of Gustaf Hallberg (all unlocated).

[46]The Sunday Chicago Record-Herald pronounced Nyholm’s works as some of the very best, lauding his Self-.Portrait as “one of the most notable works.” Op. cit., 10/29/1905. (Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks).

[47]For example, Nyholm also exhibited in St. Louis (1904) and in Des Moines (1909).

[48]Though first exhibited in 1905, Nyholm’s, painting Tle Novelette appeared as an illustration in an exhibition review by Maude I.G. Oliver in “Among the Artists,” Sunday Chicago Record-Herald, 2/9/1908 Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbook, Vol. 27, col. 4, p.108. Four years later, the same paper illustrated Nyholm’s painting of Fabian Södervall in an article about the second annual Swedish-American exhibition at Chicago’s Swedish Club. The painting was described as “a spirited work… showing a man facing the spectator, his left hand on his knee and a cigarette held lightly between his fingers.” Maude I. G. Oliver, “In The World Of Art And Artists,” Chicago Record-Herald, 3/3/1912, Sec. 7, p.5. In 1914 a large photograph of Nyholm’s portrait, Dorothy, appeared in the weekly column by Maude I. G. Oliver, Sunday Chicago Record-Herald, “Gossip of the Artists,” 4/19/1914, Sec. 2 (main sheet), p.3, under the caption: “Architectural Exhibit Shows Need of Classification; Arvid Nyholm’s ‘Dorothy’ Is a Notable Child Portrait.” A year later, , under the rubric, “ ‘Greta’ Wins Popular Picture Prize: Arvid Nyholm’s Painting Voted Best,” a large photograph of Greta (location unknown) was illustrated in the Chicago Examiner, 4/5/1915 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbook, Vol. 33, col. 1-3, p.6. Five years later, Greta appeared again, “Greta,” “Painting by Arvid Nyholm in exhibition of Swedish-American artists,” Chicago Tribune, 11/17/1920, p.7. In 1925, three of his works appeared in the Chicago Evening Post including Self- Portrait, A Young Lady Sewing and Study of a Girl (all unlocated): 7/14/1925, p.2; 7/21/1925, p.7; and 10/6/1925, p. 12. The last illustration of one of Nyholm’s paintings appeared in the in conjunction with an article by critic Inez Cunningham in her regular “Art and Artists,” column, Chicago Tribune, 3/7/1926, part 8, p.12. Though untitled, the motif consists of a young girl, seated and clad in elegant attire. The caption states nothing about the painting, only that Nyholm has several works in the on-going “Chicago Artist’s Exhibition.”

[49]Exhibited in the important annual show at the Art Institute for American artists, the painting was acclaimed in the press: “Conspicuous on the north wall is Arvid Nyholm’s portrait of the marine painter, Charles Hallberg, a work that has been pronounced one of the best portraits in the exhibition, painted with the characteristic delineation and the strength of Zorn.” “Art,” Chicago Evening Post, 10/26/1907, p.8.

[50]Like many of Nyholm’s portraits, the painting of General Whipple was done from a photograph. Indeed, given the artist’s cursory approach to Whipple’s hands, it seems quite plausible Nyholm worked from a photo of the General’s upper torso and head. The exact history behind the coming of the portrait to West Point is not known. In a letter to the author from David M. Reel, Curator of Art, West Point, 8/27/1999 he stated:“The work was donated to the United States Military Academy by Whipple’s son; sic Captain H. S. Whipple and daughter;sic Mrs. Charles Deering. I do not have information regarding the actual circumstances behind the creation of the portrait. My belief is that it was commissioned by the Whipple family as a memorial. This theory is consistent with the fact that the portrait was painted the year after William D. Whipple’s death.”

[51]Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 8/24/1907, p.6.

[52]The present locations of the Carpenter, Wilson and Potter portraits are unknown. The painting of Governor Eberhart, is hanging in the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. A perusal of Nyholm’s works from this early period shows that while his American sitters represent formal portrait commissions, the Swedish-Americans he painted were primarily family members or friends. It was not until the second decade he began to receive orders for portraits from well-to-do Swedish-Americans. These included commissions from Charles Peterson (1913, Smålands Museum, Växjö, Sweden), Gustaf Holmquist (1914, American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis), Mrs. Gustaf Holmquist (1917, location unknown), Ottila Nydén (1922, American-Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia), and John Nydén (1924, American-Swedish Historical Museum).

[53]Several letters in the Beloit College Archives suggest Mrs. Emerson was a great admirer of Nyholm’s work. Also in the archive is a partially typed essay titled “Arvid Nyholm,” which was composed by Mrs. Emerson, apparently in 1913. Though relatively short, this typescript is an excellent source of biographical information.

[54]In a letter to this writer dated 10/26/1999, Nicolette B. Meister, Collections Manager, Museums of Beloit College, Wisconsin, stated the painting has been missing since 1982.

[55]Many Swedish-American artists of the day spent time in the Far West in search of vast, unadulterated landscapes and exotic, romanticized Native-Americans. These included, among others, Jonas Olof Grafatröm, Birger Sandzén, Carl Oscar Borg and Gunnar Widforss (1879-1934). While Nyholm is known to have made a trip to California in 1922, there are no references to his painting activities there or to his having stopped in Lindsborg, Kansas, to see his old friend Birger Sandzén, a professor there at Bethany College. As a landscape painter, Nyholm does not appear to have been particularly interested in rendering expansive views of the Western plains and mountains. Instead, his forte appears to have been quiet garden motifs, resplendent in their “summer-filled” impressionism. “Arvid Nyholm,” Nordisk familjebok: Nomken till Paproki, (Stockholm: Aktiebolaget Familjebokens Föriag, 1914,) Vol. 20, p.214. In addition, Nyholm is frequently described as an extremely proficient plein air painter who was known for his watercolors.

[56]The Nyholms appear to have lived in metropolitan Chicago throughout their years in Illinois. Arvid had studios at the renowned Tree Stuido Building at State and Ohio Streets in 1913 and on the other side of the building at East Ontario Street in 1923. The family’s last residence in the city appears to have been 453 Fullerton Parkway, the same address where Arvid passed away in 1927.

[57]The show was held at Hoyt Sherman Place and ran from May 7 to May 13. One of the paintings Nyholm exhibited depicted his daughter and, in all probability, was synonymous with Portrait of a Little Girl, a work shown a year earlier at Anderson’s Galleries in Chicago: “A life-size portrait of a little girl seated on a mossy bank under the trees by Arvid Nyholm, may be seen in Anderon’s.” Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 1/25/1908, p.8.

[58]According to what is stated in Iowa: A Guide to the Hawkeye State, Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Carpenter assembled the first major private collection of art in the state. (The State Historical Society of Iowa, New York: Viking Press, 1938), p.145. In “The Carpenter Art Collection of Des Moines,” Des Moines Register and Tribune, 5/19/1912, State Historical Society of Iowa Microfilm Collection, the Carpenters’ paintings are listed by artist and title. More than sixty pieces were recorded, of which twenty-four were painted by Swedish-born artists, all of whom were close personal friends of Nyholm. Represented were Gerda Ahlm, Emil Gelhaar, Charles Hallberg, Alfred Jansson (1863-1931) and Henry Reuterdahl. Works by sculptors Charles Haag and Charles Friberg were also registered in the collection. Newspaper clipping, Archives, State Historical Society of Iowa: Des Moines Register and Tribune, 5/19/1912.

[59]This painting is undoubtedly synonymous with the one which was displayed at Anderson’s Galleries in 1907 and which “created much comment at the spring exhibition.” In all probability, the work was also seen (and approved by) Anders Zorn who visited Chicago about the same time and who “spoke in the highest terms” concerning Nyholm’s work. Op. cit., McCauley, Chicago Evening Post, 8/24/1907, p.6.

[60]Op. cit., Des Moines Register and Tribune, 5/19/1912.

[61]“Indian Painters Return from an Overland jaunt.” Newspaper clipping from an unknown source, Beloit Museum Archives, 1909.

[62]Nyholm painted portraits of the following individuals: He Dog, Little Bald Eagle, Annie Poor Bear, Louise Black Bear, Stands and Looks Back, Keeps the Mountain One Star, Bull Eye and Mary Bull Eye. The latter painting, a “sketch,” was acquired by the Carpenters and was listed as part of their collection in 1912. Op. cit., Des Moines Refiister and Tribune, 5/19/1912.

[63]Some of Zorn’s finest canvases were produced in Stockholm’s archipelago, and it seems fitting that one of the last outings made by the artist was to this evocative world of islands, water and midnight sun. Op. cit., Boëthius, Zorn: Svensk och världsvandrare, p.158.

[64]Op. cit., Des Moines Register and Tribune, 5/19/1912.

[65]All works unlocated. Another landscape entered by Nyholm might also have been inspired by his stay in France, though the title, In the Garden, does not indicate any particular geographic locale. This painting, as well as the four French motifs, was exhibited a year later by Arvid Nyholm in a show at W. Scott Thurber Art Galleries. On this occasion, Nyholm was exhibiting with Hugo von Hofsten, Charles Edward Hallberg and Alfred Jansson. Op. cit., McCauley, Chicago Evening Post, 12/2/1913, p.12.

[66]Adolph B. Benson and Naboth Hedin, Swedes in America, 1638-1938, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1938), pp.492, 575-576. Peterson was the financially successful president of Peterson Linotyping Company. During the course of his career, Peterson also assumed the presidency of of the Regan Printing Company and the G.D. Steer Company. In addition, he was, vice-president of The Island Press. Though an active commercial entrepreneur, Peterson also served as a member of Chicago’s school board (1913-1918) and later as a member of the board of county commissioners (1922-1930). In addition, he was Chicago’s city treasurer from 1923-1927. In 1922 and 1923, Peterson sponsored a purchase prize at the annual exhibition of Chicago artists at the Art Institute.

[67]Peterson was also president of the Swedish National Society and Chicago’s Swedish Old People’s Home. In addition, he served on the board for the American-Scandinavian Foundation which was established in 1911 and whose headquarters were in New York. However, it was for his contributions to Chicago’s Swedish Club that Peterson is best known in Swedish-America. Anders Schön described Peterson as an “energetic, art-loving nationalist president” who sought to make the Club not only a meeting locale for Chicago’s leading Swedes but also a vehicle for supporting everything which “could make the name Sweden in America known and respected.” Op. cit., Prärieblomman, 1912, p.128.

[68]The first of these shows at the Swedish Club took place between March 12 and March 25, 1911, a year after the Swedish Club’s new banquet hall was completed, thereby offering a spacious locale to serve as a venue for this and future exhibitions. See: “Art Exhibition Almost Ready,” Swedish Club News, Vol. 2, No. 6, 2/25/1911, pp.1, 4, and “The Story Of The Art Exhibition,” Swedish Club News, Vol. 2, No. 7, 4/25/1911, pp.1, 3, both in the Swedish-American Historical Society. See also: “Swedish Americans Plan Art Exhibit To Mark Opening Of New Club House,” Chicago Tribune, 3/9/1911, p.3. Nyholm’s Novelette, was illustrated with the article. See also: Harriet Monroe, “Scattered Art Shows for Week; Swedish-American Group Here,” Chicago Tribune, 3/19/1911, Sec. 9, p.4. (Information courtesy of the Illinois Historical Art Project IHAP. The IHAP has assembled copies of almost all the exhibition catalogues, in some instances, quite profuse and well illustrated. Outside of the Art Institute, these exhibitions were probably the most regular of any organization in Chicago and certainly had the longest run of years. On Charles Peterson, Anders Schön stated when the subject of another art exhibit came up in 1910, it was not the artists who suggested it, but rather Charles Peterson. In other words, it was Peterson who “took the initiative and who saw the project through.” Op. cit., Prärieblomman, 1912, p.128. For further published information see: Rolf H. Erickson, “Swedish-American Artists’ Exhibitions in Chicago Described in Checklists and Catalogs,” The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly, April 1991, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp.90-115. Unfortunately, Mr. Erickson, affiliated with Northwestern University, died before he could complete all of his research.

[69]“Architects To Show Their Finest Plans,” Chicago Evening Post, 3/7/1911, p.7.

[70]Hallberg led in the number of entries, submitting no fewer that ten canvases. Judging the works fell to the Swedish Club’s Art Committee and Representatives from the Art Institute of Chicago. Op. cit., Erickson, The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly, April 1991, p.95.

[71]“Arvid Nyholm and His Paintings,” The Bulletin of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1911, p.196. The work was also illustrated in the catalogue of the 1911 Chicago and Vicinity artists at the Art Institute of Chicago; in James William Pattison, “Exhibition Of Works By Chicago Artists - Paintings And Sculpture,” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3, March 1911, p.145, and Henry Charles Payne, “Chicago Artists’ Exhibition,” Art and Progress, Vol. 2, April 1911, p.175.

[72]It had been fifty years since the famous engagement  between the Monitor and Merrimac at Hampton Roads on March 9 1862. In commemorating Swedish-born John Ericsson’s contribution to naval warfare, the Swedish-American Republican League of Illinois engaged Nyholm to paint a portrait of Captain Ericsson. This work, along with Henry Reuterdahl’s Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac, was displayed at the March 12, 1912 meeting of the Swedish-American Republican League whose special guest was President Howard Taft. It was shortly thereafter the two paintings were donated to the National Museum in Washington  D.C. (Both works are still there today.) However, just prior to the paintings being sent, Nyholm executed a copy of the Ericsson canvas, and it was this latter work which for many years was displayed at meetings held by the Republican League. “Ericsson’s Portrait, Oil Painting of Swedish Inventor Hangs in Princeton Library,” Princeton Illinois Republican, 3/16/1916, part 2, p.1. Nyholm’s painting for the Republican League was donated to the Augustana College Art Collection, Rock Island, Illinois, in 1955.

[73]Pleasantly surprised by what could have been a “pitiful fiasco, a shameful bumkin-attempt to put on airs,” Sandzén summarized his impressions by stating the assembled works were “thorough and honest” and were permeated by “a strikingly modern set of feelings.” Op. cit, Präirieblomman, 1913, p.22. Not being one to conceal his own preferences, Sandzén concluded his review with a long discourse on what he himself viewed as good art.

[74]Op. cit., Oliver, Chicago Record-Herald, Sec. 7, p.5.

[75]A Family Circle (location unknown) had been displayed earlier at the Art Institute of Chicago, and it may well have been there that the work was first seen by Mrs Joseph Emerson of Beloit College. Op. cit., Oliver, Chicago Record-Herald, 3/3/1912, Sec. 7, p.5.

[76]A 1914 article stated Nyholm had not been exhibiting many of his portraits during the last few seasons. “Gossip of the Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 4/23/1914, Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbook, Vol. 31, p.132. The statement is interesting in that several of Nyholm’s most important portraits were painted at this time; namely, Fabian Sodervall, Motherly Cares, Charles Peterson, and Dorothy, all of which had been exhibited at one time or another.

[77]Among his concerns was finding jurists with more “modern” tendancies and eliminating works that were “amateurish.” Letter to Birger Sandzen from Arvid Nyhom, 5/23/1913, Sandzen Gallery Archives.

[78]Nyholm was first asked to serve on a jury committee for an Artists of Chicaqo and Vicinity exhibition at the Art Institute in 1913. He repeated this service in 1916, 1917, 1919, 1921 and 1922. He also juried the American Watercolor Show (1917), the American Annual Art Show (1919), All-American Exposition (1919); and later the Bohemian Art Club Show and the Chicago Galleries Association Semiannual Show (1926), and the Hosier Salon (1927). His jury activities on behalf of the Swedish Club usually involved the selection and hanging committees, though, on occasion, he also officiated in judging for prizes. According to the exhibition programs, Nyholm juried shows at Chicago’s Swedish Club almost every year between 1911 and 1926. He also juried the Chicago showing of the 1920 traveling exhibit American Painters of Swedish Descent.

[79]It was during the period 1910-1913 that Nyholm had his closest association with the Carpenters and with Mrs. Joseph Emerson, liaisons which resulted in numerous commissions. Though there are very few references to the prices the artist received for his works, Mrs. Emerson notes the Art League at Beloit College paid Nyholm $50 for each of the paintings it purchased, half the normal price his works usually commanded. Typescript by Mrs. Joseph Emerson titled “Arvid Nyholm,” Beloit College Archives, 1913. Nyholm mentions in a letter the Marshall Field Company has paid him $250 for the “reproduction right of his picture ‘Interior Cal. Bungalow’.” Letter to Mr. Burkholder from Arvid F. Nyholm, Ryerson Library Archives, Art Institute of Chicago, 3/23/1923. Nyholm is also known to have given private instruction in painting as is suggested by an entry in Who Was Who In American Art, “Rudy, Mary Eleanor Robinson,” (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1985), p.533.

[80]The Novelette is often referred to as A Girl Reading. Op. cit., The Bulletin of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1911, p.96.

[81]As in his 1908 painting, Girl in a Swedish Costume, Nyholm’s Motherly Cares shows his daughter clad in old country attire. The use of folk apparel on festive occasions was not uncommon among Swedish immigrant families as is confirmed by old photographs in many Swedish-American family albums. Invariably the the costumes of choice were from Dalarna - usually Rättvik or Mora - the same colorful attire popularized in paintings by Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson and immortalized in the poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt. With the decline of Sweden’s traditional farming culture in the latter nineteenth century, Swedish folk costumes, particularly those from Dalarna, evolved as poignant middle class symbols for a romanticized love of the Swedish countryside and its freedom-loving, steadfast, agrarian society, The folk attire from Dalarna, as David Gaunt and Orvar Löfgren point out, “…came to be ‘the typically Swedish one’ - profusely used in advertising and as part of middle class apparel.” Myter om svensken, (Stockholm: LiberFörlag, 1984), p. 21. For Swedish immigrants in America - particularly middle class residents in large metropolitan areas - traditional Dalecarlian dress had added poignancy; not only did it become the “Swedish” costume of preference, but, on prescribed occasions, it also served as a manifestly important sociocultural statement affirming ones continued affinity to Sweden and “home.” Given this background, it is obvious that Nyholm’s depiction of Dalecarlian apparel is not solely an effort on his part to follow a genre popularized by Anders Zorn.

[82]This canvas represents one of Nyholm’s very finest portraits (see Mary Towley Swanson, Konsten och fäderneslandet/Elusive Imaqes of Home, (Stockholm: Millesgården, 1996), fig. 17. Peterson, who at the time was the president of the Swedish Club and was owner of the Swedish-language newspaper Hemlandet, is depicted as a distinguished man clad in a suit, vest and tie, sitting at his desk with one hand on a copy of Hemlandet and the other gripping the arm of his chair. The position is transient; Peterson has momentarily turned away from his newspaper and looks the observer squarely in the eye. The subject’s form is large and forceful and dominates the composition. The lighting is sharply focused on Peterson’s face, hands and newspaper and, though its source is not shown, it apparently emanates from a table lamp. As in so many of Nyholm’s portraits, many of the formal qualities in this work point to the aesthetic legacy of Anders Zorn.

[83]These were A Bit of the Village, In the Sunshine - Brittany, The Old Fountain, In the Garden and The Old Farm House.

[84]Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 12/2/1913, p.12.

[85]Accompanying a rubric lauding Nyholm’s Dorothy as “a Notable Child Portrait,” an article described the painting as “one of the happiest products of Nyholm’s brush… which is not only a superb likeness, but a beautiful canvas, It possesses that subtle something that painters call ‘quality’.” Op. cit., Oliver, Sunday Chicago Record-Herald, 4/19/1914, Sec. 2 (main sheet), p.3.

[86]Nyholm’s painting, as well as those by Jonas Olof Grafström, Henry Reuterdahl, Hugo von Hofsten, Christian von Schneidau and Alfred Jansson, remained in place until 1984 when the Club, after being sold to a developer (1983), was scheduled to be razed. Landmark status, however, saved most of the structure, though the banquet hall, where so many of the Swedish-American art exhibits took place, did ultimately succumb to the wrecking ball. “Auction closes Swedish Club. Everything but memories goes to highest bids,” Chicago Tribune, , 11/20/1984, Section 1, p.6. Here it should be noted the murals were not officially “completed” until 1921. “Swedish Art in America,” American Magazine of Art, Vol. 12, June 1921, p.215. It is consequently not known when exactly Nyholm executed his fresco, though it seems likely he did the work in 1917 or 1918, considering the hectic schedule he maintained (painting, exhibiting, judging, traveling) in the years 1919 through 1921.

[87]Biographers frequently cited the fact that the artist was married and had children. Anders Schön, for instance, made the observation “Nyholm is married and is the happy father of five, young ‘artist’s subjects’ - small ‘new-islands’ in the expansive ocean of art.” “Svensk-Ainerikanaka Konstnärer,” Ungdomsvännen, August 1905, p.239. Here, of course, the author not only refers to Nyholm’s profession and his artistic family but also makes a charming pun on the name “Nyholm” which, when translated, means “new island.” Amusing observations of this sort suggest to those who knew them, the Nyholms were a warm, outgoing, talented clan who represented the best in family values. In other references, mention is made that the Nyholm children often sat for their father as was noted in 1913 by Mrs. Joseph Emerson who stated, “Mr. Nyholm has a large family of interesting children who are frequently models for his pictures.” Op. cit., Emerson, typescript, Archives, Beloit College, c.1913.

[88]Unlike so many immigrants who gave their American-born children typically American names, the Nyholms christened their offspring “Agda,” “ Greta,” “Eva,” “Thore” and “Birger” - names which immediately evoke Scandinavian associations. The Nyholm’s love of children expressed itself again in 1917, when they adopted a four-year-old boy named John Arvid Hall. According to court documents, his mother was unable to support him. Though the exact circumstances surrounding the adoption of the child are unknown, several facts can be deduced from the court records. Given the mother’s name, Edith Wirsen Hall, the boy was apparently of at least partial Swedish extraction. (The father was unknown.) It is also obvious the boy was immediately accepted as a member of the Nyholm family and that at the time of adoption, he was give the name “John Arvid Nyholm.” Degree of adoption: County Court of Cook County, Illinois, 9/29/1917.

[89]Though Zom is known for his portrayals of dalfolk in their distinctive parish costumes, he rarely depicted children. For Carl Larsson, on the other hand, depictions of youth, particularly his own offspring, constituted a primary theme in his innumerable portrayals of life on his estate at Sundborn, Dalarna. Frequently, his children are shown clad in local Dalecarlian folk apparel, a picturesque element which undoubtedly contributed substantially to the popularization and use of folk costumes by the Swedish middle-class. (This point is strongly suggested by the historian David Gaunt and the ethnologist Orvar Löfgren in their study of Swedish social traditions, op. cit., Myter om svensken, pp. 20-21.) As was mentioned earlier in this essay, Nyholm was well-acquainted with Larsson’s work and like Larsson, he often portrayed his children in Dalecarlian folk costumes. Brita was one of the works displayed in the 1996 touring exhibition of Swedish-American art arranged through Millesgården in Stockholm. It appeared as Illustration 20 in the exhibition catalog, Mary Towley Swanson, Konsten och fäderneslandet: Om svensk-amerikansk konst ( Elusive Images of Home: Stories of Swedish-American Art), (Millesgården and Riksutställningar in connection to Migrationåret, 1996.)

[90]Nyholm was painting at a time when there was considerable economic, political and cultural antipathy toward European immigrants, feelings which were particularly virulent during the First World War when Scandinavians, if not confused with Germans, were frequently viewed as having strong German sympathies. It is interesting to note Nyholm did not exhibit publicly any demonstrably Swedish motifs in the years during or immediately following World War One.

[91]Analogies between the men are numerous. Both, for instance, were born and raised in Stockholm; both were devoted family men; and both created for themselves, thanks in large part to very talented, artistic wives, domestic environments which, as portrayed in their art, reflected familial milieus filled with peace and tranquility.

[92]Historically, Amerikabrev played a major role as a catalyst for Swedish emigration, a fact which is amply substantiated in the archival collection at Svenska Emigrantinstitutet in Växjö, Sweden. Of the sources covering Swedish immigration, probably none are as emotionally compelling as these letters from “over there” which often serve to illuminate even the most intimate aspects of the immigrant experience. Compelling in its implications, Nyholm’s painting was executed in 1915, a time when Amerikabrev represented the only vehicle of personal communication between Swedish-Americans and their loved ones at “home.” Two years later, during the First World War, these same letters were routinely subjected to censorship. Rumors that Swedish immigrants entertained pro-German feelings - which many did - created an atmosphere in which anyone speaking or writing in Swedish evoked strong suspicions of disloyalty. Sture Lindmark, Swedish America, 1914- 1932. Studies in Ethnicitg with Emphasis on Illinois and Minnesota, (Uppsala: Läromedelsförlagen, 1971), pp.64-78. It is not known where Nyholm’s political sympathies lay prior to and during the First World War, though the fact that some of his colleagues and friends were German-born and that at the time of his death, he owned German stocks, suggests that his feelings toward Germans were not entirely negative.

[93]Unfortunately, the painting Billet doux was not illustrated in the exhibition catalog or any other sources covering the exhibit, and its location is unknown.

[94]One of the five jurors (unnamed) refused to vote with the majority whose motive, he maintained, was “impelled by nothing more than a desire to perpetuate German kultur sic.” “Oil Painting Pours Trouble on Art Waters,” Chicago Tribune, 2/13/1919, p.7. The following day, another newspaper quoted two prominent portrait painters who had declared the prize winning painting “excellent work,” thereby vindicating Nyholm and his fellow jurors. “Awards at Art Institute Laid to Favoritism,” Chicago Examiner, 2/14/1919, in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbook, Vol. 38, col. 1, p.112.

[95]“Chicago Artists Annual Exhibit Opened Today,” Chicago Tribune, 2/13/1919, in Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol. 38, p.110.

[96]On two occasions, Nyholin designed the program cover for Works by Swedish-American Artists. The first time was in 1912 when he depicted an artist drawing a nude. (This same motif was, used in a poster for the show and was described by Sandzén as “touching” and “a bit coquettish.” Op. cit., Prärieblomman, 1913, p.2.) Nyholm designed a second cover in 1925, the motif being an old Swedish lady in provincial attire.

[97]Though Peterson provided the necessary financial support for the event, he sought little recognition for his generosity, choosing instead to let the American-Scandinavian Foundation in New York and the Sverige- Amerika Stiftelsen (Sweden-America Foundation) in Stockholm receive full credit for the exhibition. According to Elizabeth L. Cary, sixty-five paintings came from Swedish artists residing in Chicago while the remaining thirty-five were done by Swedes in New York. “An Exhibition of Works by American Painters of Swedish Descent,” The American-Scandinavian Review, Vol. 8, 1920, p.599. In describing the exhibitor,  week-long sojourn at the National Academy of Design in New York, the official catalog stated: “… goal of the exhibit is to present to America what artists of Swedish blood and Swedish heritage had been able to accomplish.” Then, by way of introducing the exhibit to viewers in Sweden, the catalog states that the exhibit has come to Scandinavia “without any pretensions” and that its purpose is “to give an idea as to how American artists of Swedish descent or birth have maintained their Swedish heritage in the new country and to show which new paths they have followed.” Swedish-American Archives of Greater Chicago and the Swedish- American Historical Society: Catalog introduction, Amerikanska Konstnärers af Svensh Härkomst Utställninq, (The American-Scandinavian Foundation and Sverige-Amerika Stiftelsen, 1920), p.l.

[98]Nyholm is mentioned as one who “contributed to the success of the exhibition.” Op. cit., Chicago Tribune, 11/17/1920, p.7. As previously mentioned, An illustration of Greta appears with the article.

[99]His painting The Chinese Coat (location unknown), was included as well shortly after winning another popular prize for the artist at the annual Exhibition by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, at the Art Institute.

[100]Evelyn Marie Stuart, “Annual Exhibition of Local Artists,” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 32, April 1915, p.171: “...a bit of pure realism that suggests the influence of Zorn. Perhaps this is just because it is so real... so real is she, so entirely from out the life about us, and one must not forget the very superior technique which realism requires.” The work was illustrated on p.170, and in the exhibition catalogue. See also: “ ‘Greta Wins Popular Prize: Arvid Nyholm’s Painting Voted Best,” Chicago Examiner, 4/5/1915, in Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol. 33, p.6.

[101]Ernst W. Olson, The Swedish Element in Illinois: Survey of the Past Seven Decades, (Chicago: Swedish-American Biographical Association, 1917), p.371.

[102]Nyholm sometimes changed the titles of his works, a fact which today makes identification of his exhibited pieces difficult. This proclivity is compounded by the fact that when the titles were translated into Swedish, as they were for the American Artists of Swedish Descent show, some of the titles would lose their poetic essence if translated directly. For instance, The Yellow Lamp Shade, when translated as “Den gula lampskärmen,” sounds clumsy when compared to the simpler and more elegant Lampskenet (Lamplight), the title listed in the exhibition catalogue.

[103]Elizabeth Luther Cary, “An Exhibition of Works by American Painters of Swedish Descent,” The American Scandinavian Review, Vol. 8, 1920, p.601.

[104]As mentioned earlier, The Novelette was well received when exhibited in 1905. It was later illustrated in the Chicago Record-Herald, February 1908, in Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol. 27, p.108.

[105]In responding to a questions regarding Zorn’s specific activities during the summer of 1920, Birgitta Sandström, Director of Zorn Museet in Mora, stated authoritatively that Zorn remained in Dalarna throughout June of that year. E-mail to the author, 10/27/1999.

[106]Zorn’s health had been bad for some time. Nonetheless, visitors continued to make their way to Mora. Zorn died August 22, 1920. Jens Christian Jensen, ed., “Anders zorn: Leben und Werk,” Anders Zorn 1860-1920, (Keil: Prestel Verlag, 1989), p.82.

[107]It is not known which of Nyholm’s two self-portraits was sent. (These works were completed in 1905 and c.1912). The painting of Governor Eberhart was completed in 1914 and was apparently borrowed for the show from the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.

[108]The portraits were featured in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 10/7/1924, p.20. Two years later his portrait of member Dr. Samuel E. Bennett, was illustrated in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 11/23/1926, p.14.

[109]“Portraits by Nyholm at Stockyards Club,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 11/22/1927, p.16. An illustration appeared in the 11/29 issue, p.6.

[110]Grace Ambrose, “Exhibition of Work by Arvid Nyholm,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 7/7/1925, p.6.

[111]His self portrait appeared in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 7/14/1925, p.2. His Girl Sewing, appeared in the 7/21/1925 issue, p.7. Some months later his Study of a Girl, appeared in the 10/6/1925 issue, p.12.

[112]“Art and Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 3/7/1926, part 8, p12.

[113]Another example is his portrait of William A. Dyche for the Northwestern University Law School, illustrated in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 8/3/1926, p.5.

[114]These paintings included Otilla Nydén (1922), architect John Nydén (1924), and their daughters Valborg Nydén (1927) and Adelaide Nydén (1927). The paintings are today in the colleciton of the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia.

[115]Information for the Swedish Club exhibits comes from various exhibition catalogues such as Twelfth Swedish American Art Exhibition, (Chicago: The Swedish Club, 1924). Information for the Art Institute shows comes from Peter Hastings Falk, editor, Art Institute of Chicago, The Annual Exhibition Record, (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1990). Information for the Hoosier Salon comes from Judith Vale Newton and Carol Weis, A Grand Tradition: The Art and Artists of the Hoosier Salon, 1925-1990, (Indianapolis: Hoosier Salon Patrons Association, 1993). Information for the Chicago Galleries Association comes from Letter from The Chicago Galleries Association to Artist Members describing the 3rd Semi-Annual Exhibition with a listing the prize winners, IHAP Library, 5/25/1927.

[116]According to his death certificate, Nyholm’s physical problems first led him to seek medical assistance in April 1926. The exploratory operatoin took place on July 28, 1927, and it was apparently then that a firm diagnosis was made. Nyholm died in his home at Fullerton Parkway at 5:40 A. M. Standard Certificate of Death, Department of Public Health – Division of Vital Statistics, no. 30928, Cook County, Illinois, 11/15/1927. He was cremated two days later at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago and it is not known what his wife did with his ashes.

[117]“Painters and Sculptors,” Swedes in America 1638-1938, Adolph B. Benson and Naboth Hedin, editors, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1938), p.497.

[118]It may also be possible to attribute the decline in exhibitions to the onset of the Great Depression. However, the Swedish Club, where the exhibitions were held, continued to be a major force for the Swedish community throughout this period and exhibitions likely could have been maintained. It is more likely that Nyholm was the driving force behind them and his loss was a greater loss to the organization of exhibitions. The fifteen annual exhibit was held in 1928. In 1929 a Swedish-American exhibit (First Annual Exhibition Of Works By Swedish-American Artists, Chicago: Swedish American Art Association, 1929), was organized and held at the Illinois Women’s Athletic Club in Chicago beginning on March 10th. A more inclusive Scandinavian-American exhibit was organized and shown at the club beginning on December first: An Exhibition of Works by Scandinavian-American Artists, (Chicago: American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1929). Neither exhibitions were held again. The Swedish Club hosted the Eighteenth Swedish American Art Exhibition opening on April 3, 1937, meaning only two annuals had been organized since 1930. All information courtesy the Illinois Historical Art Project.