Collection: Emil Carlsen

Soren Emil Carlsen (1848–1932) was a Danish-American Impressionist painter. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he trained as an architect at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts before emigrating to the United States in 1872. Carlsen initially established himself as a painter of still lifes.

Early in his career, Carlsen focused on still lifes, a genre for which he became known. Later, he expanded his repertoire to include landscapes and seascapes, as exemplified by works such as Nantasket Beach (1876) and Wood Interior (c. 1910). This shift broadened his thematic scope within Impressionism.

Carlsen maintained a long teaching career spanning over forty years, holding positions at institutions such as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the California School of Design, and the National Academy of Design, to which he was also elected a member. He taught in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York.