16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
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Ostrom’s artwork is “kind
of a microscope of Astoria
history,” said Mac Burns,
executive director of the
historical society. “I think
it is an amazing collection.
The fact that it’s all in one
collection still is incredible.”
Ostrom’s art ranges from
sketches and paintings, to
wood carvings and birthday
cards. Carlson said if you
really look at the paintings
while holding them at a par-
ticular angle, hidden faces
appear in clouds and water.
“He’s drawing architec-
ture. He’s drawing boats.
He’s drawing people,”
Orange said. “That’s very
meaningful to me as a view-
er. It’s like he’s capturing
time with his drawing.”
Living two lives
Ostrom was born July
13, 1904, in Astoria and
graduated from Astoria High
School, where he played
basketball and football. He
enrolled at the University of
Oregon to play football but,
when he could no longer
afford school, began to work
in a sawmill while playing
club basketball.
Later, Ostrom became the
owner of the Snug Harbor,
a saloon that was also a
restaurant, coffeehouse and
a place to display his art-
work. Carlson said that, at
one point, Ostrom’s bar was
almost shut down because
people were boycotting him
for not serving to intoxicat-
ed people. But customers
continued visiting the Snug
Harbor to see Ostrom’s
artwork. “His art helped his
business survive,” Carlson
said.
To this day, Carlson
said they are finding more
of Ostrom’s work. Family
members could each have
around 20 pieces of art.
Carlson went exploring in
his aunt’s attic and found
Ostrom’s carvings.
Ostrom dedicated most of
his life to making art. Carl-
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SUBMITTED PHOTOS
ABOVE, RIGHT MIDDLE, RIGHT BOTTOM: Pieces by Arvi Ostrom
son said he has work that his
grandfather made from the
1920s to the 1990s. “He was
drawing all the way up until
he died.”
Carlson laughed as he
recalled the time he drew
with black crayon in grade
school, which caused the
teacher to “freak out” and
tell his mother something
was wrong with him.
Looking back, he
believes it was because he
watched his grandfather
draw with chalk. He remem-
bered thinking: “That’s what
Gramps does.”
As years passed, Carlson
would visit his grandfather
often and play music for
him. He said he has written
songs about Ostrom’s art, a
huge influence in his life.
“I was really close to
him,” Carlson said. “I
always appreciated what he
did, and he understood that I
was just always interested in
what he was doing.”
Carlson has made it a
goal to show Ostrom’s work
because he knows “how
hard it is to be an artist,” he
said. “I don’t think a lot of
people understand artists
PAUL CONTE/FOR EO MEDIA GROUP
Ken Carlson, Arvi Ostrom’s grandson, looks through his grand-
father’s collection.
have to live two lives.”
A documentary of Os-
trom’s story titled “Portrait
of an Unknown Artist,”
featuring Carlson, Burns,
Orange and Ostrom’s
daughter Jean Montgom-
ery, can be seen at vimeo.
com/221374747?ref=em-
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