Axel Hjalmar Ender was born in Asker near Oslo on 14th September 1853. He studied at the School of Fine Art and at the School of Arts and Crafts in Christiania, and with Johan Frederik Eckersberg (1822 1870), the Norwegian landscape painter, who set up a school of painting, also in Christiania. Ender continued his studies at the Academy in Stockholm and then in Munich, a city that attracted considerable numbers of foreign artists. Ender exhibited in Christiania at the Artists Association from 1872 to 1889 and was known for his religious commissions, his sculpture, but above all, his genre paintings, in many of which exist references to Norwegian nationalism. This was at a time when Norway existed as a semi autonomous state but under the Swedish Crown, Christiania the capital being renamed Oslo on Norway gaining independence in 1905. Many of Ender's works reflect the rural life and society of Norway; shooting parties, farming scenes, skiing subjects and, of course, children. Ender was highly regarded in his lifetime and works by him were reproduced by photogravure, confirming this popularity.
His works can be found in museums in: Oslo and Bergen. |