André Masson

Arild Wahlström was a Norwegian industrialist and CEO, later becoming the chairman of Sande Tresliperi A/S and Sande Paper Mill A/S. In addition to his business and sports pursuits, Wahlström had a significant interest in art and art collecting, which he shared with his wife Aasta. In their home in Holmenkollen, the couple assembled an extensive collection of prominent Norwegian and international artworks. Wahlström traveled extensively and often combined his trips with visits to art dealers and artists. He developed close relationships with several artists and met figures such as Poliakoff, Henry Moore, Soulanges, Manessier, Singier, and many others. Three times, he was invited to visit Picasso in southern France with the gallery owner Kahnweiler, but each time, business matters interfered, causing considerable disappointment. Wahlström's profound interest in Picasso's graphic art was sparked after the war during a business trip to Paris in 1946. On a small side street, the Wahlström couple discovered an image of a woman's head in an art shop. "It was so beautiful - we were both immediately captivated by it. It was something extraordinary." This incident led to intensive collecting and resulted in one of the world's largest private collections of Picasso graphics, with over 1000 graphic sheets. In 1982, Arild Wahlström donated nearly 500 of these sheets, including the entire Vollard Suite, to the National Gallery in Oslo.