Lindin, Carl

Carl Lindin

 (Am. 1869-1942)

Carl Lindin left his homeland of Sweden in 1887 for the United States. He settled in Chicago, Illinois and studied at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1893, Lindin traveled to France to study painting. During the four years he spent in Paris, the young artist studied under Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens at the Académie Julien and with Aman-Jean. Lindin returned to Chicago in 1897. While in Chicago, Lindin became close friends with Hervey White, a writer and poet. Both men formed associations with Jane Addams’ Hull-House, a social settlement and relief organization for immigrants established in 1889. Shortly after the turn of the century, White invited Lindin to join him near Woodstock, New York, to help with the construction of the fledgling Byrdcliffe art colony (forerunner to the Woodstock Artist’s Association). White and Lindin took up residence in an abandoned Lutheran church they rented. The church was renovated after Lindin married Louise Hastings, and the couple made their home there. Lindin is one of five artists credited as founding members of the Woodstock Artists Association. Although Lindin was considered to be a member of the traditional side, he served as mediator between the traditionalists and the modernists, believing that both factions of the Association deserved equal representation. Lindin also served as Chairman of the Board for the Woodstock Friends of Art. Founded in 1932, the Friends goal was to provide aid for artists in the time of hardship that resulted from the Depression. Lindin also worked during this time to secure work for artists with the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). In 1934, Lindin helped found the Woodstock Memorial Society.