Niels Skovgaard

Like his brother Joakim Skovgaard (1856–1933), he was introduced to art by his father who encouraged him to paint in the open air.

His Svære dønninger ved Jyllands vestkyst depicting waves on Jutland's west coast can be considered an example of Symbolism although he generally adopted the Naturalist idiom.

[3] From 1884, together with romantic ornamental artist Thorvald Bindesbøll (1846–1908) and his siblings, he began to design glazed ceramics while he developed his interest in sculpture from 1887 with Aage og Else (1887) and Magnusstenen (1898).

[3] He became increasingly interested in classical Greek sculpture, spending years trying to reconstruct the figures from the west pediment of Olympia's Temple of Zeus.

[2] Like his brother Joakim, he also created a number of religious works including the altarpiece Dåben på pinsedag (1905) in the Immanuel Church, Frederiksberg.