THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - An Arizona curator will discuss a Swedish artist known for his paintings of the Grand Canyon at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Alan Petersen, chair of the fine arts department at Northern Arizona University, will present “Painter of the Grand Canyon: Gunnar Widforss” in the Roth Nelson Room. A painter himself, Petersen is also Fine Arts Curator at the university.

Widforss was born in Stockholm and spent 13 years during the Roaring ’20s and the Great Depression documenting the beauty of the American West. Unlike many other Western painters, he never resorted to sentimental or romanticized depictions. He died suddenly at age 55 in the Grand Canyon, where he had lived for many years.

A post-lecture reception will be held at the Scandinavian Center, where works by Widforss and Petersen will be on display.

The Scandinavian American Cultural & Historical Foundation, the CLU Art Department and the Swedish Club of Los Angeles are sponsoring the free event.

The Roth Nelson Room is located on Mountclef Boulevard between Olsen Road and Memorial Parkway. The Scandinavian Center is located nearby at 26 Faculty St.

For more information, contact Anita Londgren at (805) 241-1051.