Sandzén, Birger

Birger Sandzen studied in his native Sweden with the highly regarded Anders Zorn before heading to France to continue his studies in George Seurat’s studio. There, Sandzen absorbed the techniques of the Impressionists and Postimpressionists, especially those regarding color and paint application. Inspired by a book about the struggles of Swedish immigrants in Lindsborg, Kansas, Sandzen emigrated to the United States in 1894. He settled in Lindsborg, and became a professor of art at Bethany College. Sandzen traveled throughout the West, painting deeply textured landscapes reminiscent of woodcuts–a medium at which he was a master–with a rough hand-hewn quality.