[1] Knute August Heldner was born in the village Vederslöv in Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden in 1875; some sources say 1877,[2] or 1886 (also giving his first name as "Sven").

[3] His early formal training was at Karlskrona Technical School and the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm.

He was married to Collette Pope Heldner (1902–1990) who was also a painter and his one time student from the Rachel McFadden Art Studio in Duluth.

[9] Heldner and his wife eventually made their home in New Orleans, Louisiana, returning to Minnesota during the summer.

They were part of a loosely organized collective of 1920s New Orleans artists sometimes called the "French Quarter School" which catered to tourists interested in American history.