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.

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