Sellstedt, Lars Gustaf, 1819-1911

Lars Gustaf Sellstedt was a portrait, landscape, and marine painter. He was born in Sundsvall, Sweden on April 30, 1819. At the age of 11, Sellstedt became a cabin-boy on a Swedish trading vessel and worked as a merchant seaman until 1845, when he settled in Buffalo, N.Y. Sellstedt took a studio and began his career as a portrait painter. In 1850, he married Louise Lovejoy and they lived in New York City for a brief period of time; she died a few years later in Buffalo. In 1853, Sellstedt visited Stockholm, but returned to Buffalo and married Caroline Scott in 1856. Their home became a center of artistic activity.

Sellstedt helped to arrange an art exhibition in 1861 that led to the establishment of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy; he served as its president in 1876 and 1877. In 1872, Sellstedt sent his self-portrait to the National Academy of Design; it won a commendation from Daniel Huntington and led to his election as an associate. In 1875, he became a National Academician. Sellstedt was active in the Saturn and Liberal Clubs of Buffalo. In 1904, he published his autobiography and in 1910, "Art in Buffalo." Sellstedt died on June 4, 1911.

Born in Sweden; left in 1831 to become a sailor; settled in Buffalo in 1842 and opened an art studio. In 1850, married Louise Lovejoy, who died of cholera in 1851. Married Caroline Scott in 1856; her brother- in-law, Solomon G. Haven, was a former mayor, current Congressman and law partner of Millard Fillmore. Built a reputation as a talented portrait painter. Was a founder of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and one of the first curators of the Albright Art Gallery. In 1872 he was elected an associate of the American Academy of Design, becoming a full-fledged Academician in 1875. In 1904 his art studio on West Mohawk St. burned and many of his paintings were destroyed. His most notable paintings are portraits of Millard Fillmore, Grover Cleveland, and himself. Author of an autobiography and a history of art in Buffalo.

The ancestors of Sellstedt's wife Caroline include William Scott, an officer in the Revolutionary War. Sellstedt's daughter Eva married Dr. Frank H. Potter in 1887.