ArtistSwedish
John Thorgren
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John Lennart Thorgren was born on September 20, 1918 in Sorsele, in the vast interior of Västerbotten, and died in 2000 in Boden. His early adult life was shaped by military service rather than art: he became a volunteer at Norrbottens regiment, passed his non-commissioned officer exam in 1943, and pursued correspondence courses in drawing during his service years.
Art remained a parallel commitment throughout the 1940s. Thorgren studied at Otte Sköld's painting school in Stockholm in 1947-1948, one of the period's more rigorous private institutions, and the experience laid the technical groundwork for the expressive landscape style he would spend the following decades refining. He made his public debut at Hantverkshuset in Umeå in 1952, and two years later exhibited at Galleri Brinken in Stockholm, where he received strong notices in the capital press. In 1954, after more than a decade of military service, he left the army to paint full-time.
From 1958 to 1991 Thorgren was based in Stockholm, though his motifs ranged far beyond the city. His paintings draw on four geographic fields: the Norrland mountain world around Abisko and Lappland; Gotland's limestone plateaux and winter light; the Boden area where he had served and would eventually return to; and Stockholm itself. He worked primarily in oil, but also produced watercolours and lithographs. His colour sense is direct and physical, with the cool greys and blue-whites of northern light sitting alongside warmer, sun-bleached tones from his Gotland work.
Thorgren participated regularly in the Stockholm Salons at Liljevalchs from 1958 onwards, and was included in the travelling exhibition '20 Painters from Norrland' shown at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. He is closely associated with the Bodenskolan, the informal grouping of largely self-taught artists centred around Boden who organised exhibitions and supported each other's practice over several decades without issuing any formal manifesto.
His work enters the auction market primarily through northern Swedish houses and Stockholm generalists. Auctionist's database records 12 items, including oil paintings of summer landscapes, Lappland river scenes, Gotland winter motifs, and still lifes, alongside colour lithographs signed and numbered in editions of 310. Prices have ranged from a few hundred Swedish kronor up to 1,760 SEK for an oil on canvas, with one Gotland winter lithograph achieving 400 EUR at a specialised sale. His work is held by Moderna museet, Norrbottens museum, Västerbottens museum, Hälsinglands museum, Örebro läns museum, and Skövde stadsmuseum.