Biography: “Ronald Ahlström was born in Chicago, IL in 1922. During World War II, he fought in the Pacific Theater serving as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. After the war, he returned to Chicago to study painting at the School of the Art Institute. In the early 1960s, Ahlström worked as the curator at the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, WA. A talented painter and artist, Alhström also was a noted bass fiddler and guitarist. He often played professionally in night clubs during the late 1940s and ‘50s. Ahlström exhibited his artwork nationally, including shows at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others. In 1958, he was awarded the William H. Bartels Prize of five hundred dollars at the Art Institute of Chicago. Ahlström became best recognized for his intricate and subtly rendered abstract compositions that often integrated painting, drawing and collage. He died at the age of 90 in Chicago in 2012.” (from the Richard Norton Gallery website)
*Many people and websites write the last name of the artist as Ahlstrom, but I follow his example based on his signatures.)
Website: None; see the Richard Norton Gallery webpage.
Date Acquired: July 26, 2023
Location Acquired: eBay
Provenance: None, supposedly a collector deaccessioning a collection
Type: Mixed media collage on art board
Size: 24 x 18 inches
Personal Connection: None. I nicknamed this one “Pollock” due to the overall design across the board. The full coverage, multiple layers, and general feel hearken back to Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings, though in this case it’s brushstrokes and collage pieces that are more rectilinear than the drips.
This purchase is one of seven Ahlströms I purchased on eBay, just after I decided to focus primarily on Chicago art. It was lucky timing, as I bought all of them at pretty reasonable prices, much lower than I see today (February 2024). I love the vibrancy and colors of these, along with the fact that they are abstract collages. They are unique to my knowledge, in that most collagists retain at least some figurative elements to their work. Hoping to acquire more of this style, but if not, still plan to show the seven I own as an exhibition some day.
Other Chicago Artists in the Collection:
- Ralph Arnold, Orbit, 1969
- Ralph Arnold, Adam, Undated
- Ralph Arnold, Untitled (Confrontation Series), 1970’s
- Seymour Rosofsky, Stage Set, Undated
- Seymour Rosofsky, Man on a Theatre Stage, 1965
To see all of the Chicago artists in the collection, by decade, check out the Chicago Area Artwork in the Collection page.
Art Hoard 
4 thoughts on “Ronald Ahlström, Untitled (Pollock), Undated”