He was born in
Vefsn Municipality in
Nordland county, Norway, as the oldest son of Othar Ervigius Holmboe and his wife Sofie Birgitte Andrea Hall. He had one brother, Othar, who also became a painter. His grandfather was Michael Wide Holmboe, son of bailiff
Jens Holmboe and brother of politicians
Even,
Leonhard and
Hans Holmboe. In addition, he was the nephew of
Jens Holmboe, cousin of
Johan Henrik Rye Holmboe, and brother-in-law of
Jappe Nilssen. He studied under
Hans Gude in
Berlin between 1886 and 1887 and
Fernand Cormon in
Paris between 1889 and 1891. He was inspired by many different styles at different points in his career, including
Naturalism,
Neo-romanticism,
Realism and
Impressionism. He is represented with thirteen works in the
National Gallery of Norway. ==References==