Education
He took his first drawing lessons from Johan Knutson then, from 1856 to 1861, attended the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society in Turku, where he studied with Robert Wilhelm Ekman.
He took his first drawing lessons from Johan Knutson then, from 1856 to 1861, attended the drawing school of the Finnish Art Society in Turku, where he studied with Robert Wilhelm Ekman.
He is usually associated with the Düsseldorf School, but his work also displays early Impressionist elements. He specialized in coastal scenes. From 1863 to 1865, he attended the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf then went to Karlsruhe for one year to continue his studies with Hans Gude.
He also came under the influence of Charles-François Daubigny and the Barbizon school.
That same year he settled in Gothenburg and became Curator of the city art collection in 1878. A position he held until 1900.
He also taught at the Valand Academy and was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. In addition to his painting, he provided illustrations for several works by Zacharias Topelius.
His first solo exhibition (Helsinki, 1870) was successful and, three years later, he was invited to become a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.