Joseph Sundwall

Joseph Sundwall was born in Chicago in 1948.  A graphic design major in college (Kansas City Art Institute), he later studied painting at the Art Students League and the National Academy in NYC, and at St. Oswald’s Studios in London.

An accomplished portrait painter, Joseph began painting equestrian scenes after having been invited to a polo match near Princeton, New Jersey.  After a series of polo paintings, he turned to other equestrian works such as dressage, flat track racing and fox hunting.  He is also an avid painter of small animal subjects in the landscape (such as basseting), and accepts commissions for portraits of large and small animals.

Joseph, a traditional realist, paints in a style called “alla prima”, meaning “direct painting.” In this way of working, each area of the painting is accomplished in a single sitting.   Joseph’s work exhibits a fresh, spontaneous quality, reflects his keen interest in the play of light with painterly brushstrokes.His paintings and drawings are in private collections in the Unites States, Canada, the UK and several other nations in Europe.