Arthur Runquist

Arthur Runquist studied at the University of Oregon, Art Students League (New York), and the Museum Art School at Portland Art Museum. In 1939 he exhibited at the New York World’s Fair and at the Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco. In the late 1930s and early 1940s Runquist worked for the Oregon WPA Art Projects creating both easel paintings and murals for the library at the University of Oregon and Pendleton High School. During WWII he worked in the Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver and during breaks painted the laborers garnering a reputation for works that included social commentary. After the war, he continued his interest in modernist figuration and also painted a number of images of the Oregon coast where he lived with his brother, Albert.