Birger Sandzen

Born Blidsberg, Sweden, Feb. 5, 1871. After graduation from Skara College, Sandzen spent a semester at Lund University attending art history lectures and continuing the study of French. Sandzen then went to Paris to study with Aman Jean. Sandzen moved to Lindsborg, Kansas in 1894 to teach French, voice, art history, drawing and painting at Bethany College where he remained on the faculty until 1946.

Sandzen’s style of painting is unusual in its thick and heavy application of impasto in bold and bright color combinations, interpreting the landscape of the western United States. He is known for very colorful renderings of mountain lakes with boulders, cypress and aspen trees and moonrises along waterways.