"The Other Swedes"
~ Celebrating Them ~
~ The Lindsborg Swedes, Their Neighbors & Friends ~
<> Their Legacy Art Community <>
Artist Birger Sandzén
Sandzén's introduction to lithography
~ From McPherson, Kansas, Carl J. Smalley,
considered greatest art dealer in the world at that time
~ Celebrating Them ~
~ The Lindsborg Swedes, Their Neighbors & Friends ~
<> Their Legacy Art Community <>
Artist Birger Sandzén
Sandzén's introduction to lithography
~ From McPherson, Kansas, Carl J. Smalley,
considered greatest art dealer in the world at that time
Lindsborg's Sandzén's good friend McPherson, Kansas art dealer Carl J. Smalley (1885-1965) for a period of time was noted by the International Studio Magazine in the April issue of 1923 as the "greatest art dealer in the world." Mr. Smalley's goal was to have art on the walls of every schoolhouse in Kansas. During this era, there was reported to be more art per capita with McPherson residents than anywhere else in the world. It was during this time that Birger Sandzén met Mr. Smalley who eventually introduced the Swedish artist to the medium of lithography.
A book was written on this in 1979. In 2015, a second book was written by the same author, Cynthia Mimes, and was published by the Friends of McPherson Schools Art Collection under the title of "For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance."
Under Google Books is found this summary of Ms. Mimes book: "In the early decades of the 20th century, the small Kansas community of McPherson experienced such a renaissance of art and culture that the prestigious International Studio magazine proclaimed that per-capita art ownership there was higher than anywhere in the world. The man behind the movement was Carl Smalley, the son of a seed store owner whose passion for original art was fueled by a visit to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. At the heart of the art oasis on the prairie was a friendship between Smalley and artist Birger Sandzén. Their collegial enthusiasm was the backbone of annual exhibitions that attracted more than half the population to see works by artists such as Rembrandt, Whistler, Manet, Joseph Pennell, Gustave Baumann, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton and members of the Prairie Print Makers. School children and graduating classes collected money to buy original art, and the seeds sowed during that era can still be seen on the walls of the McPherson public schools as well as museums, colleges, office buildings, libraries and private collections."
In a Salina Journal article, "The seeds of an art collection" by Gary Demuth on January 30, 2016, it was explained that the McPherson Schools Art Collection actually began in 1911 with McPherson School Superintendent George Pinney who was an art lover who came up with the idea of annual art exhibitions to raise money to buy artwork for the new McPherson High School. Yet it was Smalley's expertise and connections that eventually drew national attention to the growing collection.
A short film followed the 2015 "For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance," titled "Sowing the Seed of Art" that was prepared by "Friends of McPherson Schools Art Collection" and was uploaded on YouTube on July 29, 2019, which gives you an idea of the story that explains how a Sandzén art student told the art professor about the McPherson school exhibitions which resulted in the two men meeting.
It was due to Mr. Smalley's insistence that another new medium of art was introduced to Sandzén, that of lithography, which was then introduced to the art students at Bethany College. Sandzén's work in this medium brought the artist fame in many art circles, domestic and abroad. In short, meeting Mr. Smalley had impacted his life greatly as a renowned lithographer as well as painter.
Now please enjoy this brief but enlightening story on the McPherson, Kansas, art collection having its beginning around the 1920s.
This is based on Ms. Cynthia Mimes
A book was written on this in 1979. In 2015, a second book was written by the same author, Cynthia Mimes, and was published by the Friends of McPherson Schools Art Collection under the title of "For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance."
Under Google Books is found this summary of Ms. Mimes book: "In the early decades of the 20th century, the small Kansas community of McPherson experienced such a renaissance of art and culture that the prestigious International Studio magazine proclaimed that per-capita art ownership there was higher than anywhere in the world. The man behind the movement was Carl Smalley, the son of a seed store owner whose passion for original art was fueled by a visit to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. At the heart of the art oasis on the prairie was a friendship between Smalley and artist Birger Sandzén. Their collegial enthusiasm was the backbone of annual exhibitions that attracted more than half the population to see works by artists such as Rembrandt, Whistler, Manet, Joseph Pennell, Gustave Baumann, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton and members of the Prairie Print Makers. School children and graduating classes collected money to buy original art, and the seeds sowed during that era can still be seen on the walls of the McPherson public schools as well as museums, colleges, office buildings, libraries and private collections."
In a Salina Journal article, "The seeds of an art collection" by Gary Demuth on January 30, 2016, it was explained that the McPherson Schools Art Collection actually began in 1911 with McPherson School Superintendent George Pinney who was an art lover who came up with the idea of annual art exhibitions to raise money to buy artwork for the new McPherson High School. Yet it was Smalley's expertise and connections that eventually drew national attention to the growing collection.
A short film followed the 2015 "For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance," titled "Sowing the Seed of Art" that was prepared by "Friends of McPherson Schools Art Collection" and was uploaded on YouTube on July 29, 2019, which gives you an idea of the story that explains how a Sandzén art student told the art professor about the McPherson school exhibitions which resulted in the two men meeting.
It was due to Mr. Smalley's insistence that another new medium of art was introduced to Sandzén, that of lithography, which was then introduced to the art students at Bethany College. Sandzén's work in this medium brought the artist fame in many art circles, domestic and abroad. In short, meeting Mr. Smalley had impacted his life greatly as a renowned lithographer as well as painter.
Now please enjoy this brief but enlightening story on the McPherson, Kansas, art collection having its beginning around the 1920s.
This is based on Ms. Cynthia Mimes
" Kansas Landscape "
by
Birger Sandzén
From the handout when visiting the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery after its opening to the very early 1960s. -- Deere Papers
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Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
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