Axel Hjalmar Ender

Axel Hjalmar Ender was born in Asker, near to Oslo in Norway, in 1853. He studied at the School of Fine Art, the School of Arts & Crafts in Christiania and was much influenced by the Norwegian landscape painter Johan Frederik Eckersberg. Ender completed his studies in Stockholm and Munich and exhibited in Christiania from 1872. Ender was particularly known at the time for his religious and his genre paintings, many of which draw on important subjects to the Norwegian nation. At the time, Norway existed only as a semi-autonomous state, controlled by the Swedish crown. Norway eventually gained independence in 1905 and Christiania was renamed Oslo as the new country's capital. Ender's later works reflect the life of rural Norway, including depictions of skiing, shooting parties and farming scenes. His work was widely reproduced prior to his death in 1920.