Kansas Landscape

Swedish born Birger Sandzen's academic training began in Stockholm under Andres Zorn and Richard Bergh. Settling in Lindsborg, Kansas in 1894, he developed a unique and powerful modernist style, whereby he applied fauvist color sensibilities with a deep, rich, impasto brush. Maintaining a post at Bethany College through most of his career, Sandzen was perhaps one of the most influential painters of the mid-west region. In works such as Kansas Landscape, Sandzen's combination of color and form, applied with a rapid brush, reveal a style unique from traditional academic norms.