Carl Nordell

American (born 1885)

A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, artist Carl Johan David Nordell moved to the United States where he resided in Boston, New York, and California. He studied art at numerous institutions including the Boston Museum of Fine Art School, the Art Students League in New York with Bridgeman and F.V. DuMond, the Rhode Island School of Design, and at the Academy Julian in Paris with J.P. Laurens. Nordell had membership in the Boston Art Club, the Salmagundi Club, the Society of American Etchers, the North Shore Art Association, the California Printmakers, the Boston Watercolor Club, and the Chautauqua County Society of Artists. Between 1909 and 1941, he exhibited his work extensively, winning numerous prizes for his entries. During this time, he displayed his paintings at the Boston Art Club, the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art Annual, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery biennials, and the Salmagundi Club. Today his works can be found in the collections of the Library of Congress at the Smithsonian Institute, the Biblioteque Nationale, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as Williams College and Wellesley College. Nordell was known for his landscapes and still lifes, and he also received many commissions for portraits, including several presidents of Dartmouth College.