Erik Artur Olson (Ohlson, Olsson) (

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

9 May 1901 – 1986) was a Swedish painter, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, theater decorator, and member of Halmstadgruppen. He was the brother of artist Axel Olson, and in 1929 married Solvig Sven-Nilsson. Olson is represented, for example, at the National Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. Olson is known as a Swedish surrealist. He devoted himself to dream-like, over realistic artwork. Olson grew up in Halmstad. After school he started to work as a company copier. In the evenings he cultivated his main interest, drawing and painting, by studying at Halmstad Technical School. His father had hoped for the son to be an engineer, but Olson, as well as the two year older brother Axel Olson and cousin Waldemar Lorentzon, participated in 1919 in an amateur show in Halmstad secondary school. In the summer of 1919, they met the established artist Gosta Adrian-Nilsson (GAN). This meeting influenced them strongly, impressed by his painting and his art theories. In 1924 Olson went to Paris together with Waldemar Lorentzon. They became students of

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

's painting academy Academie Moderne and the school spirit of

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

. Between December 1924 and March 1925 Eric Olson went to Italy for further studies. After his military service, he returned to Paris in 1927 and started working for Léger. In 1929 he married painter Solvig Sven-Nilsson. The same year he became a co-founder of Halmstadgruppen. Late in the year 1930, he painted 'Handsken är kastad', (gloves are off), which is considered to be his first

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

work. Olson lived for periods in both France and Denmark. Starting in the 1930s, his works participated at exhibitions in, for example, Copenhagen, London, Paris and New York. He mostly spent his summers on the coast of

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

where he participated in Söndrumskolonin during the 1940s. In 1950 Olson converted to Catholicism and spent some of his later years rediscovering religious art. He also created several stained glass windows for various churches. One example is the stained glass in the choir in Sofia Albertina church in

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

and the windows of the St Maria catholic church in Halmstad. In 1971 he was awarded the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal () is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthday of his brother Prince ...

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Erik Olson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Erik 1901 births 1986 deaths People from Halmstad 20th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal 20th-century Swedish male artists Artists from Halland County