Arild Wahlstrøm was a Norwegian industrialist and CEO and later chairman of Sande Tresliperi A/S and Sande Paper Mill A/S. Besides business and sports, Wahlstrøm had a great interest in art and art collecting, which he shared with his wife Aasta. At their home in Holmenkollen, the couple built an extensive collection of large Norwegian and international works. Wahlstrøm traveled extensively and often combined his trips with visits to art dealers and artists. He developed close relationships with several artists and met with Poliakoff, Henry Moore, Soulanges, Manessier, Singier, and many others.
He was invited three times to visit Picasso in southern France with the art dealer Kahnweiler, but each time, business got in the way, which was a great disappointment. Wahlström's great interest in Picasso's prints was awakened after the war, on a business trip to Paris in 1946. On a small side street, the Wahlström couple discovered a painting of a woman's head in an art gallery. "It was so beautiful - we were both immediately taken by it. It was something extraordinary." The incident led to an intense collecting effort and resulted in one of the world's largest private collections of Picasso prints, with over 1000 pieces. In 1982, Arild Wahlström donated nearly 500 of these prints, including the entire Vollard Suite, to the National Gallery in Oslo.
Arild Wahlstrøm Collection will be sold at Modern Art & Design
Viewing: May 11 – 15, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Open: Weekdays 11 am – 6 pm, Weekends 11 am – 4 pm
Live Auktion: May 16 – 17, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm