Laurits Bernhard Holst (1848-1934)

Laurits Bernhard Holst (1848 - 1934) was a 19th century marine artist, born in Norway but spent time in the States and latterly lived in England. His father was an artist and Holst learnt to draw and paint as a child. He was active in Chicago 1869-70 and was admitted as a member of the Chicago Academy.  The local press called him An Eastern artist of much talent who arrived with the highest recommendations from prominent citizens of Chicago. He returned to Denmark in the early 1870's and moved to England in 1878 where he initially lived in Scarborough. Holst later had studios in Chelsea and South Kensington but eventually settled on the south coast in Bournemouth in 1896 until his death there in 1934. During this time he still visited Denmark regularly and also exhibited there, mainly in Charlottenburg until 1891. Holst had an excellent reputation as a marine painter in both the States and the UK and sold paintings to royalty in Denmark and England. He was exceptional at capturing the movement and light of the sea and its many moods. He also exhibited works at the Royal Academy eleven times between 1878 and 1902 .