He was born in
Son (now
Vestby), Norway. He was the son of Oluf Emil Wold (1826–67) and Marie Therese Ottesen (1838–193). His father had been in the timber business, but went bankrupt and died before he was born. In 1869 his mother married merchant Søren Thorne (1817-1900). He grew up in the village of
Hølen in
Akershus where his step-father owned a general store. In 1893, he traveled to Paris with his friend,
Thorvald Erichsen, and studied with
Fernand Cormon and
Alfred Philippe Roll. He then lived in
Florence for a year from 1895 to 1896. In 1897, he designed currency for the
Norges Bank. He had his first major exhibit in 1899 at the
Høstutstillingen in Oslo. ==Personal life==