The Tweed Museum of Art proudly presents the first exhibition in over 40 years of paintings by David Ericson (1869-1946), celebrated as the most well-known painter to come from Duluth in the late 19th century. The son of modest Swedish immigrants who gained the confidence and patronage of prominent Duluthians, Ericson went on to study at the Art Students League in New York and in Paris with James McNeill Whistler. Traveling, painting and gaining critical acclaim in Europe and on the East Coast, Ericson always returned to Duluth, which he considered his true home. Featuring over 60 paintings, the exhibition is drawn from the museum’s rich collection of Ericson’s portraits, allegorical paintings, nocturnes, later impressionistic works and archival material, and from many private collections in the region. Always Returning introduces Ericson’s work and his story to a whole new generation, and is accompanied by the first book documenting his life and art.Â
Concurrent with Always Returning, the exhibition Artists of Duluth: 1870-1940 presents selected works by a group of Ericson’s contemporaries, including: Knute Heldner, Clarence Rosenkranz, Mathais Wolden, Alexis Fournier, and Peter Lund.