Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
American, 1879-1947
Carl Oscar Borg was a Swedish-American painter, illustrator, and printmaker best known for his luminous landscapes of the American West and his sensitive portrayals of Native American life. Born in Grinstad, Dalsland, Sweden, he left home at the age of 15 to work as a house painter. His artistic talent and ambition led him to London, where he briefly worked as an assistant to the renowned portraitist Anders Zorn before sailing to America around the turn of the century.
Borg arrived in California in 1901 and quickly found his artistic home in the dramatic light and landscape of the American Southwest. He became associated with the California Impressionist movement and was one of the earliest non-Indigenous artists to travel and paint extensively in Navajo and Hopi lands. His deep respect for Indigenous culture and his ability to capture the spiritual vastness of the desert made his work both artistically distinctive and historically valuable.
Throughout his career, Borg worked across media—oil, watercolor, gouache, and etching—developing a bold, expressive style characterized by clarity of form, vibrant color, and masterful use of light. He was a founding member of the Painter-Etchers Society in Los Angeles and held teaching positions at the Santa Barbara School of the Arts and the University of California.
His work was widely exhibited in the United States and Europe during his lifetime, and he received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. Though most associated with the American West, Borg never forgot his Scandinavian roots. A number of rare early works depict Swedish and Norwegian landscapes, painted before his emigration.
Today, Carl Oscar Borg is recognized as a vital link between European academic training and the emerging modern visual identity of the American West. His legacy is preserved in major museum collections and continues to resonate with collectors and scholars alike.to
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Artist: Carl Oscar Borg
Blue Mountains, New Mexico
By Carl Oscar Borg
Located in Stockholm, SE
In this luminous landscape study, Carl Oscar Borg captures the serene beauty of the New Mexican high desert, likely looking toward Mount Taylor, a sacred peak that rises above the su...
Category
Early 20th Century Romantic Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Valley View with Pines and Distant Peaks, Sierra Nevada (Possibly Yosemite)
By Carl Oscar Borg
Located in Stockholm, SE
This luminous gouache captures a majestic mountain vista, likely set in California’s Sierra Nevada (possibly Yosemite). Two broad granite peaks with sunlit faces dominate the backgro...
Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
An Old Military Road, The Road over Dovrefjell, Norway
By Carl Oscar Borg
Located in Stockholm, SE
Carl Oscar Borg (1879–1947)
An Old Military Road, The Road over Dovrefjell, Norway
gouache on paper, ca. 1900
signed
sheet 12.5 cm x 17.5 (4.9 x 6.9 in)
framed 23 × 28 cm (9 × 11...
Category
1890s American Impressionist Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Gathered by the Easter Fire, Dalsland
By Carl Oscar Borg
Located in Stockholm, SE
A rare and atmospheric work from Carl Oscar Borg’s early years in Sweden, this evocative gouache captures the tradition of Easter fires (påskeldar) in the rural region of Dalsland. A...
Category
Late 19th Century American Impressionist Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
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Arizona Landscape – Dramatic Skies and Desert Light by Carl Oscar Borg
By Carl Oscar Borg
Located in Stockholm, SE
In this expressive gouache study, Carl Oscar Borg captures the dramatic sweep of the Arizona highlands, where storm clouds gather over layered mesas and valleys bathed in shifting li...
Category
Early 20th Century Romantic Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Inscription Rock, New Mexico – Southwest Light in Gouache by Carl Oscar Borg
By Carl Oscar Borg
Located in Stockholm, SE
Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947) Swedish/American
Inscription Rock, New Mexico
gouache on card
signed CARL OSCAR BORG.
unframed: 12 x 17.5 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/8 in)
framed: 22 x 27 cm (8 5/...
Category
Early 20th Century Romantic Carl Oscar Borg Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
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Carl Oscar Borg drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Carl Oscar Borg drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Carl Oscar Borg in gouache, paint, watercolor and more. Not every interior allows for large Carl Oscar Borg drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Richard Westall, Hiro Yokose, and Ellsworth Woodward. Carl Oscar Borg drawings and watercolor paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,400 and tops out at $2,600, while the average work can sell for $2,400.