Have you ever heard of the artist Elof Wedin? I had never heard of him until a couple I know gave me a brochure about him and suggested I do some research on him.
Elof Wedin was born in Sweden in 1901 and immigrated to the United States in 1919 moving to Minneapolis. He began taking night classes at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in the early 1920s. In 1926 he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago under professor George Oberteuffer. In October 1926 he married Lillian Westman. They had two sons, Winslow and Gary. During this time he bought a home at 3512 James Ave. N. in Camden. In 1928 Wedin began a career as a pipe coverer, insulating boilers and ductwork with asbestos, to support his family. He also continued to establish himself as a professional artist by painting continuously and entering his work in local exhibitions. Wedin had a talent and an interest in portraiture and his portraits have been compared to those of both Rembrandt and Modigliani. During the Depression he painted works for the WPA including Minneapolis street scenes, two post office murals and works at the Itasca Park CCC Camps. In 1933 he took a trip back home to Sweden, which stimulated his interest in the landscape, and it was the subject of his first one-person show at the Minnesota State Fair in 1934. Wedin continued to paint portraits and landscapes until the mid-1970s. By then he was in poor health due to his years of working with asbestos insulation. Elof Wedin died in 1983.
Wedin had many one-man shows at places including the Hudson Walker Gallery in New York City, the Harriet Hanley, the Kilbride-Bradley, and Bjorkman Galleries in Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center and Bethel College. He also exhibited his works at such places as Rockefeller Center in New York City, the San Francisco World’s Fair, Swedish Clubs in Detroit and Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Los Angles County Museum and the University of Minnesota. Elof Wedin painted over a 50-year period and was immensely popular in his lifetime. A columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch said Wedin was among “the big five” Minnesota artists of his generation.
Thanks to Camdenites, Dean and Nancy Johnson, for bringing this acclaimed Camden artist to my attention.
Elof Wedin’s Mills at Minneapolis 1934-5. Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society.