ILLINOIS HISTORICAL ART PROJECT
FREDERICK REMAHL
FREDERICK REMAHL was born in Bohuslan, Sweden, on June 18, 1901, and studied in Europe and America. He has painted in the Scandinavian countries and in Germany and France and, in this country, in Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. He is a member of the Chicago Society of Artists, the Illinois Academy of Fine Arts, the Swedish-American Art Association and the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, and bas exhibited in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Minneapolis Art Institute and the Art Center in New York. One-artist shows of his work have been held at the Morton Galleries in New York, the Minnesota State Fair and, in Chicago, at the Midland Club, the Chicago Woman's Aid, Weisenborn's Studio and the Gaulios Galleries. He has been twice awarded prizes at Swedish exhibitions, and is represented with two paintings in the Gothenburg Museum in Sweden. His work has been written about in New York, Chicago and Swedish newspapers and in The Arts, by Forbes Watson, C. J. Bulliet and others.
I was born on a little island off the coast of Bohuslan, Sweden, and I spent an extremely happy childhood there among the seaweeds, sea shells, and driftwood-endlessly sailing and rowing small boats. The late autumnal storms, in particular, were impressive and I still remember them with awe and wonder. It is from Swedish fairy tales that I drew my first impulses for artistic endeavor. Color is of the greatest importance to me. It makes painting a constant pleasure. Indeed, I do pure abstraction largely because that affords me a great opportunity to play with color. But that does not mean that I do not consider abstractions important. I think that they are very important when they are the creation of an important artist, and when the color and design in them is good. I find it impossible to disregard for any length of time subject matter and form in my work, though, needless to say to anyone who has seen my paintings, I am not interested in subject matter purely as an end in itself. My work is decidedly a personal expression. Yet I hope that it is not without some value, also, as a contribution to society. Whether my work is peculiarly American or Chicagoan, I do not feel able to say. As for the art market and art galleries, I have not been influenced in my work by their demands. Neither does criticism affect my work, although I find it valuable at times. My experience has been that those who view my work either like it immensely or not at all. Frederick Remahl.