Ole Peter Hansen Balling

Balling is most commonly associated with his portraits, several of which are featured in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.[1][2] Born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Balling was a student of Norwegian artist Ferdinand Jonas Gjøs (1790–1852) and trained under Danish decorative painter Jacob Emilius Wunderlich (1809–1892).

Balling depicted several Union Army generals, including a portrait of Ulysses S. Grant and another painting of Grant and his generals,[4] and portraits of Philip Sheridan, John Sedgwick, and James S. Wadsworth.

In addition, he created portraits of prominent American statesmen, including presidents Chester Arthur and James Garfield, as well as the abolitionist John Brown.

[5][6][7] In 1874, Balling returned to Norway to operate a painter workshop in Horten, at the time the site of Karljohansvern, the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy.

[11] Balling is also represented in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., West Point Military Academy in New York and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum in Horten and the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo.