Artist

Carl Gustaf Nelson

born Hörby, Sweden 1898-died Elmhurst, IL 1988
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Image is courtesy of the Carl Nelson papers, 1923-1989 in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Also known as
  • Carl Gustav Nelson
  • C. G. Nelson
  • Carl Gustaf Simon Nelson
  • Carl Nelson
Born
Hörby, Sweden
Died
Elmhurst, Illinois, United States
Active in
  • Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Biography

Carl Nelson’s slender frame, wiry white beard, and flamboyant clothing made him instantly recognizable on Maine’s Cranberry Island. He had retired from teaching in Boston and become a beloved member of the island community, where friends praised his excellent cooking and gardening. During the Depression, Nelson lived in New York, surviving on a tiny paycheck from the Works Progress Administration. He later recalled the casual nature of the government’s job offer: “My phone rang one afternoon & I was asked . . . if I would like to go to work the following morning.” During his long career, he exhibited his work in important group shows, including the Whitney Biennial. Several of the country’s top art museums acquired Nelson’s paintings, and he taught for decades. Six years before his death, he wrote a letter to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, stating “I have lived the happiest of lives between teaching and painting.” (Carl G. Nelson to Susanne Owens, April 25, 1982, SAAM curatorial file)

Works by this artist (9 items)

Ulysses Davis, Where Life Comes From, ca. 1950-1990, carved and stained wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.23
Where Life Comes From
Dateca. 1950-1990
carved and stained wood
On view
Ulysses Davis, Untitled (Hart/Heart), ca. 1950-1960, carved wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.48
Untitled (Hart/​Heart)
Dateca. 1950-1960
carved wood
On view
Ulysses Davis, Sputnik, ca. 1957, carved and stained wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.22
Sputnik
Dateca. 1957
carved and stained wood
On view
Ulysses Davis, Headhunter, ca. 1950-1990, carved and painted wood and rhinestones, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.20
Headhunter
Dateca. 1950-1990
carved and painted wood and rhinestones
On view

Related Books

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1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.