Emil Carlsen
1853 Denmark –1932 USA

Emil Carlsen, a Dane, first came to America at the age of nineteen, but three years later returned to Europe, working in Paris, where he studied the paintings of Chardin. He championed the revival of Chardin's work, and his own still-life paintings closely emulate the works of the master, using similar subject matter and adopting the open composition and soft atmosphere of Chardin's still lifes.

He later turned to landscape painting with light, bright colors, suggesting an affinity with impressionism. His landscapes became progressively emptier and more austere, often conveying a religious feeling.

The South Strand, painted about 1909, suggests influences from James McNeill Whistler and other tonalist painters who worked within a limited tonal range and softened contours to communicate a mood of nostalgia or reverie.