He began his artistic education in
Bergen, where he studied with and
Anders Askevold. In 1863, he went to Copenhagen to study with
Frederik Rohde and take classes at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. From 1864 to 1867, he completed his studies at the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, in the
Kingdom of Prussia, with
Oswald Achenbach and was influenced by the works of
Hans Gude. After completing his studies, he remained in Düsseldorf. From 1868 to 1900, he was a member of
Malkasten, a local artists' association. The variety of his landscapes diminished after 1870, when he began devoting himself almost entirely to
fjords. This was probably in response to the preferences of the tourist trade. They were especially popular in Germany. In 1899 he moved to Berlin, but returned to Norway every summer to sell his paintings. After 1900, he turned to painting with a
palette knife and brightened his colors, in imitation of
Adelsteen Normann. His paintings always included foregrounds with people and boats; occasionally houses. Many of his works were copied and sold as prints. Some art historians maintain that he would be better known today if he had become a member of the
Berlin Secession. His works may be seen at the
National Gallery of Denmark, the
Deutschen Schifffahrtsmuseum in
Bremerhaven, the
Gemäldegalerie Dresden and the
Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf. A large number of his paintings are held in storage by the
Bergen Museum of Art & Science. ==References==