Johan Nordhagen

Johan Nordhagen (23 March 1856 – 28 August 1956) was a Norwegian painter, graphic artist, educator and school administrator.

It was just a coincidence that Nordhagen in his youth made contact with persons who helped him making a career in art.

Later he was employed by the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority (then known as Norges Geografiske Oppmåling) as lithographer and terrain drawer.

He won two scholarships, including the Houens legat in 1887, which enabled him to travel to study abroad, first to Copenhagen and then to Paris.

In 1897 he got a substantial grant from the Parliament of Norway to go to Germany from 1898–99 to train under Karl Köpping (1848-1914) at the Royal Academy of the Arts in Berlin.

[2][6][7][8] Many of Nordhagen's motifs were from Ringsaker and Veldrebygda including portraits of both famous and unknown persons, of local community originals, clothing, work situations, interiors and building customs.