Carl Henrik Jonnevold

CARL HENRIK JONNEVOLD
1856-1955

Untitled (landscape)
Oil on canvas, undated

Carl Jonnevold was born in Norway and came to the United States in his twenties. He painted all around the Northwest until 1887 when he settled in San Francisco. He had no formal art education. In his early fifties he visited Paris where he was drawn to the Barbizon painters’ subdued palettes. His California landscapes from that time on showed this influence. His preference was to paint in late afternoon for the subtle effect of the shadows.
By 1930 he was in deep financial trouble. After a violent dispute with his landlord which resulted in a two month jail sentence, he disappeared from San Francisco. He lived in obscurity for the next twenty-five years. He died at the age of ninety-nine.

--Lois Smalley and Kathleen Durham