Svend Rasmussen Svendsen (March 21, 1864 – September 6, 1945) was a

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

impressionist artist. Svendsen is most known for his rural scenes, marine views, and snowy landscapes of Norway.

Background

Svend Rasmussen Svendsen was born at Nittedal in

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the son of Rasmus and Marie Svendsen. Shortly thereafter his family moved to

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo) where Svendsen received his primary education. In 1881, he immigrated to America and settled in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Career

Svendsen had studied with Norwegian painter and engraver

Fritz Thaulow Frits Thaulow (20 October 1847 – 5 November 1906) was a Norwegian Impressionist painter, best known for his naturalistic depictions of landscape. Biography Johan Frederik Thaulow was born in Oslo, Christiania, the son of a wealthy chemist, ...

. Svendsen also studied with Edward F. Ertz, Professor of Watercolor at the

Académie Delécluse The Académie Delécluse was an atelier-style art school in Paris, France, founded in the late 19th century by the painter Auguste Joseph Delécluse. It was exceptionally supportive of women artists, with more space being given to women students t ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Svendsen exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute, the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His paintings were shown at the

Chicago Norske Klub Chicago Norske Klub (1911 to 1971) was a Chicago, Illinois based Norwegian-American cultural and social organization. Background Chicago Norske Klub was founded in 1911 through the merger of two prior organizations which had dated to 1890, the Norw ...

and at Minnesota State Fair. His art was also featured at the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo, NY during 1901. Since his death, the art work of Svend Svendsen has been included in exhibitions featured at

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

, at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and at the Spanierman Gallery in Chicago. His art is on display at the National Museum of American Art at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

.''Svendsen, Svend Rasmussen''
(Norwegian 1864–1945. MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.)

Awards

*Young Fortnightly prize by the Chicago Art Institute (1895) *Bronze medal at the St. Louis Exposition (1904)

Personal life

He was married to May Isabel Newton (1874-1950) with whom he had five children. Svend Svendsen died in Chicago during 1945.

References

;Other Sources *Strand, A.E. (1905) ''A History of the Norwegians of Illinois'' (Chicago, IL: John Anderson Publishing Co.) * Haugan, Reidar Rye (1933) ''Prominent Artists and Exhibits of Their Work in Chicago'' (Chicago Norske Klub. Nordmanns-Forbundet, 24: 371–374, Volume 7) * Lovoll, Odd S. (1988) ''A Century of Urban Life: the Norwegians in Chicago before 1930'' (Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American Historical Association) ;Related Reading *Gerdts, William ''The Friedman Collection: Artists of Chicago'' (Spanierman Gallery, LLC, NY, 2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Svendsen, Svend Rasmussen 1864 births 1944 deaths People from Nittedal 19th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century American male artists 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Artists from Chicago Norwegian emigrants to the United States Norwegian Impressionist painters American Impressionist painters 20th-century American painters American male painters Académie Delécluse alumni 20th-century American male artists 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian male artists