Meadowlark Gallery: The Artist Biographies

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947)
Carl Oscar Borg was born in Grinstad, Sweden in 1879 and died in Santa Barbara, California in 1947. Apprentice housepainter Borg left Sweden by freighter in 1899. Although he considered himself self taught as a painter, he did study in London where he worked as a scene painter. Borg emigrated to New York City in 1902 but moved to Canada before settling in California in 1904. Employed as a scene painter for the movies, he had his first exhibition in 1905. He was introduced to the West as a subject and then through his sponsorship by the mother of William Randolph Hearst he then received five years of European study. He received awards in France in 1913 to 1914 and 1920 as well as in the United States. Borg lived in Santa Barbara, California from 1914 to 1930. He was a friend of Edward Borein, painting Indian ceremonials and cowboy genre subjects and teaching art. Borg, Millard Sheets, and Dr. Eugene Bolton of the University of California wrote and illustrated a 1936 book on the history of California entitled, "Cross, Sword, and Gold Pan." The same year, he published a book of etchings, "The Great South West."
View high resolution images of works by Carl Oscar Borg when available.