Robert Ovid "Bobby" Dawson

 

By Bobby Dawson

By Bobby Dawson

NORMAN KEYES

 Norman Keys's grandfather was the brother of Olga Jonsson. He lives in Philadelphia.

Patrik Olsson

 

Patrik Olsson

(Grandson of Gunilla Hellström)

CLAES (Clas-Herbert) JONSSON

The youngest of Olga and Folke's children was born 1930 and died this year. He was called Claes in America but as he grew up in Sweden, he was called Clas-Herbert. He, like his parents and his siblings, was also very artistic and expressed this talent in many ways. He worked in many areas and he was a building contractor for many years, working with his brothers Folke (Ponkis) and Bo-Erling in Jacksonville, Florida.

He left Sweden when only sixteen and worked on one of the Swedish America Line's vessel M/S Vretaholm. His uncle(Axel Jonsson) was general manager at the this shipping company. After his two years sailing the seas,  he settled in Jacksonville. He later lived in New Mexico, California and when retired, he settled near his children on the east coast, with his fourth wife Lynne, in a small place Wellsville, NY where they restored the  "Hallsport General Store". It became a center of the community and here he could exhibit his paintings and other art work. The photos of the paintings below were kindly sent by Darr Pace who purchased them from Claes.

Here are som early photos of Claes (thanks Lynne for sending them) that might interest family and friends.

Passport photo 1947

Claes, sixteen on the vessel Vretaholm (below)

M/S Vretaholm

Claes with wife Lynne

Hallsport Church. Built in 1901.
Located across the road from Darr and Noreen's home.

Hallsport Hotel PaintingCalvin Hall built/ran the Hallsport Hotel in the early 1800's. His son,
Squire Hall, ran the blacksmith shop. Hotel on left - blacksmith on right.

The Hallsport, NY Grange hall was built in 1937.
It is now Darr and Noreen Pace's home.

The building on the far left is the old general store in Hallsport, NY
USA. Claes and Lynne remodeled it to be their home. Lynne still lives there.

(When Claes and Lynne bought the store in 2011 it was listed like this: 

"Opportunity to resurrect the renowned Hallsport General Store! Once a favorite country store of many this building the old character, built-in cabinets & shelving, and the ice cream station. In addition to the store there is a 2 bedroom apartment you could live in or rent it and have additional income! The 1st & 2nd floor apartment has been partially remodeled and is ready for painting your favorite colors. Also on the 2nd floor is the room that was once the Dance Hall with wood floors & walls, and old gas light fixtures." )

MARION BRISMAN

Marion Brisman, daughter of Anita Hanson, started to paint early 1980.

She has had many exhibitions and every year she and other artists exhibit jointly as "Eleven Signatures".

Marion has also painted on silk and this is a detail of a silk scarf she painted.

Water colour by Marian Brisman.

EVA STÅLSJÖ

Eva Stålsjö (daughter of Mary Laurenius) works as an artist and illustrator for  the major book publishers in Sweden
All images copyright @ Eva Stålsjö

"Älvdans" (Dance of the Elves)
Illustration ur boken "Svea Rikets vagga" avDag Stålsjö.
An illustration from a book by her husband Dag Stålsjö

Eva  has participated in many television projects and her Christmas saga, BIG BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER VISITING THE ELVES (STOREBROR OCH LILLASYSTER HOS TOMTARNA)  initially a Christmas saga for television, has now become an app in Swedish and English.
In the early 1960's, Eva was working on some illustrations when her husband Dag suggested a storyline that turned into the saga it is today.

SIGRID HOWELL

Like all of Olga and Folke's children, Sigrid was talented. This drawing was a gift to her sister Mary whom she and the other siblings were truly devoted to. Mary had an angel's temperament and sweetness my mother told me.

Easter basket a gift to Dorian Dawson at age 4.

I know that Sigrid had had an exhibition downtown Gothenburg before she moved to America in 1939. The little advertisement mentioned decorated items including Chinese lacquer work. I am not sure if she continued doing this in America, but if so, please send me (Leif) some photos.

Sigrid (in the middle) during a visit to Sweden with her sister Anita to the left and her brother Billy on her right.

MARY LAURENIUS

Mary Laurenius, daughter of Olga and Folke made beautiful waste paper baskets using the "raising compound" (upphöjningsmassa) her mother used for Chinese lacquer work. The compound is made with "English red" pigment, ground pumice stone and shellac and applied with a knitting needle.
In this particular item, shells and starfish have been incorporated in the design. All sides are covered and it must have been a labour of love.

This is one of Mary's more traditional waste paper baskets where she skilfully applied a picture and framed it with the raising compound on all sides.

During the 1950's when almost everyone smoked and just about every table in the house had an ashtray, it was desirable to have an elegant matchbox nearby  and Mary made and sold these in large quantities. The larger matchbox (above) was actually made by her mother Olga from old costume jewellery but later renovated by Mary. 

ROLF JONSSON

Rolf Jonsson 1883-1965), a  brother of Folke and Rut became a full-time painter living with his family at Särö all his life. He married Annie whom he met in Cornwall when he studied art there.

"For those at Sea" painted 1914 in Cornwall, England by Rolf Jonsson.
The painting was no doubt bought by Olga and Folke since the picture hung in their livingroom at Lysholmen, Särö as long as anyone can remember. It now hangs in Särö Church, a donation by Gunilla Hellström, the daughter of Olga and Folke.

Rolf (3)  is sitting second from left in this photo of wealthy Särö children around 1900.
He is accompanied by his sister Rut (2) and brother Folke (5) and some friends whose names are not known. Please email Leif if you know.

RUT ATTERBOM (born Jonsson)

Folke had  a sister Rut who married Hjalmar Atterbom.

She was very talented and only a very few drawings have survived.

This drawing above right is of "Tante Axeline", a friend of her father ( Axel Jonsson). It has been difficult to establish exactly who Tante Axeline was but she is often mentioned in grandfather Folke's letters to Olga ("My Darling Olga"). 

A portrait of Rut's father Axel Jonsson 

"Martin i Stallen". Hans riktiga namn var Martin Andersson. Han bodde på landsidan av Stallviken och ägnade sig bl a åt dagsverken samt att segla frakter mellan Särö och Göteborg. Han bedrev även fiske och på somrarna seglade han badgäster. Herrskapen som vistades på Särö kunde beställa båtturer till holmarna, särskilt till Risö som var ett populärt utflyktsmål. Taxan var mellan 1:50 och 3:- kr.  Axel Jonsson Sr med familj  åkte ibland ut med Martin. Martin Andersson levde 1836 - 1916.    Källa: Torsten Atterbom och  "Boken om Släp - en bygd att älska" del II.

Särö 1905

The home where Rut grew up, villa Beau Rivage at Särö, Sweden

Villa Ysäter at Särö
The house was built by sandstone from Gotland and did unfortunately absorb the damp sea air
and it very early on became damp and deteriorated.
Read more about it here.

PS:

Rut and Folke's mother Ragnhild Jonsson died very young of diabetes. She was also an artist but I have sadly not found any of her work. 

SONJA BAUM

Sonja Baum, daughter of Sigrid Howell

Sonja Baum: "MacChuck"

ANITA HANSSON

Olga's eldest daughter Anita, was a very talented artist like most of Olga and Folke's children. Anita decorated this old Swedish clock (Moraklocka). 

She also learned Chinese lacquer and renovated some of Olga's pieces that had deteriorated. Unfortunately there is not much else to show here, but if anyone has something, take a photo and send it to me (Leif). Anita was probably quite young and lived at home  when the clock was decorated. She married in 1934, 24 years old.

In 1931, when Anita was 21, she and her mother Olga, her sister Sonia and Mary all went to Florida to be with Anita Dawson, Olga's mother, who had suffered a heart attack. Olga stayed with her mother, but Anita "discovered America" as is obvious from the article in the Macon Evening News (Georgia). It is very interesting as it reveals much about the time on both continents.

This little drawing was given by Anita 13 year old, to her grandmother Anita (Ball) Dawson from Jacksonville in Florida, who often spent time with the family at Särö. Grandmother Anita glued it into her massive scrapbook where i discovered it years later.