33. Edward Fristrom 1862 - 1942
An Auckland Wharf
Oil on board
22 x 30.5 cm
Signed
est. $8,000 - 12,000
Fetched $8,500
Relative Size: An Auckland Wharf
Relative size

Provenance: Private Collection, United Kingdom

Exhibited: Auckland Society of Arts

Claus Edward Fristrom (1864-1950) was born in Sweden. As a young naval cadet he deserted ship to join his brother Oscar who was working as a photographer and portrait painter in Brisbane. Oscar Fristrom is remembered as founder of the Queensland Art Society. Edward Fristrom exhibited fifty three paintings with the Society between 1899 and 1902, he married in Brisbane and had three children.

The family arrived in Auckland in 1903. Fristrom joined the Auckland Society of Arts and established a Queen Street studio. The painting, An Auckland Wharf was purchased at this time together with the following two lots, Incoming Tide, Mahurangi and At Palliser Bay. For many decades these works were held in a private, United Kingdom collection. Following repatriation they are now offered for sale.

Leaving New Zealand for Queensland in late 1909, Fristrom returned in 1911 to teach at Elam School of Art. In 1915, following his resignation over a pay dispute, he became mentor for a breakaway group of supportive students which included Minnie White, Ida Eise, George Finney and Marcus King. Fristrom's work, like that of contemporaries James Nairn and Girolamo Nerli, received a somewhat mixed reception in New Zealand. At the time many collectors had a conservative approach to art while Fristrom's work included elements of impressionism and avant-garde techniques.

In July 1915 Fristrom departed from Wellington for the United States. Settling in Northern California he exhibited rural and coastal views. He died on 27 March 1950 in San Anselmo, California. Fristrom, best known for his small, impressionistic oil paintings, is represented in all major New Zealand galleries and the Turnbull and Hocken Libraries.

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