Karl Ouren (February 5, 1882 – January 3, 1943) was an American artist best known for his paintings of Norwegian landscapes and scenes, particularly those featuring winter and snow.

Background

Karl Peter Andreas Ouren was born in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

, in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the son of Markus Einar Andreas Ouren and Helga Petronelle Olsen Ouren. He studied art in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

and later at the Technical School ('' Københavns Tekniske Skole'') in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. He emigrated to the United States in 1902, settling in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He attended the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

from 1911-1914 under the instruction of Antonin Sterba (1875-1963).

Career

He exhibited frequently at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art where he was a member and where he also studied. He was awarded a gold medal from the Palette and Chisel Club in 1919. His work was featured at the Chicago Gallery Association and at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Paintings by Ouren were included in the

Norse-American Centennial The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair on June 6–9, 1925. Description The event served to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival during 1825 of the Norwegian immigrant ship '' Restauration''. T ...

Art Exhibition held at the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state fa ...

in 1925. He received prizes from the Chicago Galleries Association in 1929 and 1930. His paintings were also part of the permanent collection at the Chicago Norske Klub where he won special prizes in 1924 and 1929.

Personal life

In 1915 he married Karen Stubban of

Orkdal Orkdal is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...

county,

He became a naturalized

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

in 1927. He died in 1943 in Chicago. He is survived by his daughter Helen (Ouren) Ingebrigtsen, 3 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and 7 great-great grandchildren.Family member input

References

Other sources

* Haugan, Reidar Rye (1933) ''Prominent Artists and Exhibits of Their Work in Chicago'' (Chicago Norske Klub. Nordmanns-Forbundet, 24: 371—374,Volume 7) * Lovoll, Odd S. (1988) ''A Century of Urban Life: the Norwegians in Chicago before 1930'' (Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American Historical Association, *Strand, A.E. (1905) ''A History of the Norwegians of Illinois'' (Chicago, IL: John Anderson Publishing Co.)

External links

''Winter in Svolvoer Harbour'' by Karl Ouren, 1930
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouren, Karl 1882 births 1943 deaths People from Halden 20th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Chicago Norwegian emigrants to the United States School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni 20th-century American male artists