Johann Berthelsen

Johann Henrik Carl Berthelsen (July 25, 1883 – April 3, 1972) was an American Impressionist painter, as well as having a career as a professional singer and voice teacher. Essentially self-taught as an artist, he is best known for his poetic paintings of New York City, often in snow.

Background Johann Henrik Carl Berthelsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the seventh of seven sons born to Conrad and Dorothea Karen Berthelsen. His father was a tenor with the Royal Opera and his mother was a nurse. Following the divorce of the parents, in 1890 his mother brought the children to America, joining her sister in Manistee, Michigan. Soon they settled in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Johann developed an early interest in singing, acting, drawing, and painting. He dropped out of school after the fifth grade and worked in various jobs. He moved to Chicago at age eighteen, planning to pursue a career in theater. An old friend who was studying voice at the Chicago Musical College encouraged him to pursue singing. Upon auditioning at the school, Berthelsen was offered a full scholarship. While a student there he won two gold medals.

In 1913, Berthelsen moved to Indianapolis to become the head of the voice department at Indianapolis Conservatory of Music. He formed a lifelong friendship with painter Wayman Adams, who was the same age and had studied with William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri. Adams would paint many portraits of Berthelsen, including a life-sized image of his friend about to go on stage for a concert. Adams is credited by some as having provided painting instruction to Berthelsen, and they may have had a double wedding in 1918.

Awards Albert Erskine Prize for Pastel Art Institute of Chicago (1928) Holcombe Prize in Indianapolis (1946)

Public collections Hickory Museum, Hickory, North Carolina Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis Indiana University, The Daily Family Memorial Collection of Paintings, Bloomington, Indiana Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas Richmond Art Museum, Richmond, Indiana Sheldon Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina