Lena Sigrid Stenholm

Lena Sigrid Stenholm was an artist who came to the United States in the early twentieth century. She married John Bergen Carlson and raised two children, Jane (1918-1998) and Malcolm (died in World War II). Jane became a professional pianist in New York and Malcolm served in the United States Army during World War II. He was killed in action shortly after the 1944 invasion of Normandy. Jeanne Partington, Jane Carlson's best friend, said that Lena used her painting as a way of handling her grief over Malcolm's death. Lena and her husband eventually moved to West Hartford, Connecticut. She died in 1963.