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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017
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Erick Bengel | Weekend Editor
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Submitted Photo
Arvi Ostrom, behind the bar, in the Snug Harbor Tavern
‘BEHIND
THE BAR’
ARVI OSTROM, OWNER OF THE SNUG
HARBOR TAVERN IN UNIONTOWN, LEFT
BEHIND VAST, HIDDEN BODY OF WORK
By KAELIA NEAL
For EO Media Group
Paul Conte/For EO Media Group
Ken Carlson, Arvi Ostrom’s grandson, looks through his grandfather’s vast collection.
Submitted Photos
ABOVE AND BELOW: Five pieces by Arvi Ostrom
THE BAR’
he world is only beginning to appreciate
the talent and massive output of Arvi Ostrom,
an Astoria native who quietly produced thou-
sands of works of art during his lifetime.
Ostrom, who owned the Snug Har-
bor Tavern in Uniontown, passed
away in 1995. While in hospice care,
he had one last request.
“He said, ‘Will you take care of my
art for me?’ the day before he died,”
said Ken Carlson, Ostrom’s grandson.
Carlson, an artist and a musician him-
self, shared his grandfather’s interest
in art, so naturally he agreed.
But what Carlson fi gured would
be a few hundred pieces turned out to
be more than 10,000 that Ostrom left
behind.
“At that time I didn’t really know
what he had done,” Carlson said. “No
one did.”
In order to create so many pieces,
Ostrom must have averaged about
three a week.
For the last 22 years, Carlson
has made it his mission to display
his grandfather’s collection. “I felt
like his stuff should be honored,”
Carlson said.
Recently, he opened an exhibit,
“Behind the Bar: The Folk Art of Arvi
Ostrom and the Snug Harbor,” at the
Clatsop County Historical Society’s
Heritage Museum to display selec-
tions of Ostrom’s work. Carlson col-
laborated with Astoria artist Dar-
ren Orange, who said “it’s really an
honor” to be involved.
See OSTROM, Page 2C
MORE ONLINE
A documentary of Ostrom’s story titled “Portrait of an Unknown Artist,” featuring
Carlson, Burns, Orange and Ostrom’s daughter Jean Montgomery, can be seen at
https://goo.gl/fEqL6P