Florence Ahlberg (1902 – 1987)

Portrait of J. L. David (Portrait), c. 1930, oil on canvas adhered to board, apparently unsigned, 26 x 20 inches, exhibited: 1) Fourth Annual State-Wide Exhibition, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA, February, 1931 (label verso),  2) California Palace of the Legion of Honor, unknown date (label verso), and 3) Oakland Art Gallery, unknown date (label verso), also bears labels verso from the 47^th Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 22 – December 6, 1936, but the artist and this work do not appear in the catalog for this exhibition

$4000

Florence M. Ahlberg was a San Francisco-based painter and printmaker, who was born in Homer, Nebraska. Although little of her work has emerged, Ahlberg’s practice seems to have focused on still life  and portraiture, such as the present work. Portrait of J.L. David shows the influence of German New Objectivity from the late 1920s and early 1930s, together with art deco stylization. Ahlberg employed metal leaf to create an unusual background which included architectural elements projecting above the sitter’s head. Scratching away at the painted surface of parts of the metal leaf revealed a haphazard array of marks framing the sitter’s face. When combined with strong outlines and a smoothly rendered surface, these marks cause the sitter’s image seemingly to float above the picture plane. Combined, these elements create a modernist image that is elevated above a stereotypical portrait from the 1930s.  

In addition to portraiture, Ahlberg often exhibited still life compositions at group shows around California as early as 1929 and a group of still life lithographs is in the collection of the US General Services Administration. The 1936 San Francisco City Directory listed Alberg's profession as a portraitist. Other years simply listed her as an artist. Ahlberg studied at the Portland Academy of Fine Arts and the California School of Fine Arts. During the Great Depression, she worked for the Federal Art Project of the WPA and exhibited at the Santa Cruz Art League, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, de Young Museum, and Oakland Art Gallery. Ahlberg was a member of the Los Angeles Art Association, San Francisco Art Association, Chicago Art Club and New Jersey Society of Artists. She is listed in Who Was Who in American Art and other standard references.