Birger Sandzén: About the Artist
February 5, 1871 - June 19, 1954
Birger Sandzén (Sven Birger Sandzén), born in Vastergotland, Sweden, is known for his paintings, evolving from subdued tones into a post-Impressionist, expressionist style. His mature work used thick applications of bold color, and was compared in style to that of Vincent van Gogh and the Fave painters Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse.
Youth in Sweden
Growing up in Sweden, Sandzén had an early interest in the arts that was supported by a home environment offering great cultural resources. At the age of ten he entered Skara School to study art under Olof Erlandson, who graduated from the Royal Swedish Academy of the Arts, and Sandzén graduated in 1890 with honors.
Birger Sandzén in Stockholm
In 1891, Sandzén moved to Stockholm to apply to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, however, the waiting list was too long, and instead he joined a class taught by Anders Zorn, Richard Bergh and Per Hasseberg. This small was later known as the Konstnärsförbundet or “Artists League".
Move to Paris, France
Sandzén moved to Paris in 1894 to study under Edmond Aman-Jean who introduced him to pointillism, and was closely associated with Ernest Laurent and George Seurat in promoting Impressionism. He was greatly influenced by pointillism, and Sandzén's early work used these techniques and the tonalist approach to color relationships.
Lindsborg, Kansas and the United States
He then accepted a teaching position at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, and continued a long and distinguished career as an art professor and Impressionist painter in the United States. Sandzén's painting style developed into broad rhythmic strokes of pure colors that "optically blend" when viewed at a distance.
Sandzén traveled throughout the United States and Mexico, producing some of the paintings he is most well known for. He particularly enjoyed and painted views of the rugged Southwest mountains, Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon in Utah, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Mesa Verde National Park cliff dwellings and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Sandzén painted many scenes of Kansas, including family farms in Graham County, Kansas; views of homesteads along the Great Plains; and scenes of the stream and limestone rock outcroppings near Wild Horse Creek
Youth in Sweden
Growing up in Sweden, Sandzén had an early interest in the arts that was supported by a home environment offering great cultural resources. At the age of ten he entered Skara School to study art under Olof Erlandson, who graduated from the Royal Swedish Academy of the Arts, and Sandzén graduated in 1890 with honors.
Birger Sandzén in Stockholm
In 1891, Sandzén moved to Stockholm to apply to the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, however, the waiting list was too long, and instead he joined a class taught by Anders Zorn, Richard Bergh and Per Hasseberg. This small was later known as the Konstnärsförbundet or “Artists League".
Move to Paris, France
Sandzén moved to Paris in 1894 to study under Edmond Aman-Jean who introduced him to pointillism, and was closely associated with Ernest Laurent and George Seurat in promoting Impressionism. He was greatly influenced by pointillism, and Sandzén's early work used these techniques and the tonalist approach to color relationships.
Lindsborg, Kansas and the United States
He then accepted a teaching position at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, and continued a long and distinguished career as an art professor and Impressionist painter in the United States. Sandzén's painting style developed into broad rhythmic strokes of pure colors that "optically blend" when viewed at a distance.
Sandzén traveled throughout the United States and Mexico, producing some of the paintings he is most well known for. He particularly enjoyed and painted views of the rugged Southwest mountains, Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon in Utah, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Mesa Verde National Park cliff dwellings and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Sandzén painted many scenes of Kansas, including family farms in Graham County, Kansas; views of homesteads along the Great Plains; and scenes of the stream and limestone rock outcroppings near Wild Horse Creek
Kansas Landscape
Mountain Stream, Devil's Gulch - Estes, CO - 1938
Saline Pines - Russell, KS - 1940