SILHOUETTES ARE FAMOUS for being black, but very few are actually made by a blacksmith. Carl Ackerlund, from Minnesota, USA was such a man: a blacksmith silhouettist.
As a fan of Carl Ackerlund I run some of my virtual studio days in tribute to this artist.
A Swedish artist in America
Carl Ackerlund was a Swedish silhouettist who emigrated to the USA at a young age. He lived in Minnesota for many years before moving to Iowa with his wife Minnie.
Carl tended to give his silhouettes scalloped bust lines (sometimes with a forked tail at the front) and distinctive fronded eyelashes. Both of these stylistic habits make it easy to attribute an unstamped Ackerlund silhouette. However, I’ve never seen such a silhouette. This indicates that he fastidiously stamped all his silhouettes with his name and contact details.
Carl’s postcard stamps
These stamps help build a picture of his working habits. Carl seems to have worked at a variety of state fairs and department stores throughout the 1920s.
Carl A. Ackerlund is listed in the1910 census of St Paul, Ramsey State, Minnesota, which states Sweden as his birthplace. He apparently came to USA in 1903 aged 19, 2 years before his parents and 2 sisters, who followed him 2 years later in 1905.
He may have added a ‘c’ to his original name of Akerlund but the writing in the original census document is not easy to read. Apparently he was a blacksmith by trade, obviously cutting silhouettes in his spare time.
The Minnesota’s newspaper ‘The Peoples’ Choice’ list his death in their obituaries section.
Just found a carl ackerlund silhouette in our family picture
How fascinating. Feel free to send me a photo of it! I’ll drop you an email.
Grace Ann Morrison here.
I received your e-mail at eight o’clock this morning.
I was so happy to hear from
The Roving Artist. Today I
despair that both letters will
reach you. I hope U.K. mailmen can find creative addresses. In Houston they
can’t
If you would be so kind to contact me in two weeks when the second letter should have arrived.
As we say in Texas, “can’t thank you enough”
Hi Grace, I was a bit concerned when you mentioned a “creative address” but you’ll be pleased to know your letter arrived safely this morning. I’ll pop a DVD in the post for you tomorrow!