Emil Carlsen Figurative Oil Painting

Item Details

Emil (Soren Emil) Carlsen (Danish-American, 1853 – 1932)
Untitled (three figures), circa 1897
Oil painting on canvas
Unsigned

Provenance
Dorothea Carlsen (daughter of artist)
Sotheby’s Arcade, New York, March 31, 1993, Lot #121

Carlsen is best known for his still lifes and coastal landscapes. After studying at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen, he immigrated to Chicago in 1872. He was selected to be the first teacher of drawing and painting at the Chicago Academy of Design. However, he desired additional training and traveled to Paris to train under Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. After decades as a struggling artist in New York and Boston, Carlsen moved to San Francisco and gained the position of Director at the California School of Design. He continued to face financial hardships and moved back northeast by the 1890s where he taught at the National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Art Students League. While Carlsen was a well-respected American Impressionist and a sought-after teacher, he did not see success until the 1910s. He was an elected member of the National Academy of Design and the Salmagundi Club and was awarded the Samuel Shaw prize. Carlsen’s paintings are displayed in national museums including the Frye Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, to name a few.

• Item not examined outside of mounting

Condition

- canvas not stretched and presented under glass; rippling, uneven texture, and abrasions to painting surface; yellowing to pigments; crease and minor pigment loss to lower right; painting examined under UV light; abrasions and wear to frame.

Dimensions

- measures frame; sight measures 4" W x 5" H.

Item #

ITMGB75558