Young
Boy by O. C. Seltzer
Hockaday Permanent Collection |
O. C. Seltzer (1877
- 1957)
Olaf Seltzer was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. When he
was twelve, his exceptional artistic talent opened the doors of
the Technical Institute of Copenhagen to him.
He moved to Great
Falls, Montana after his father's death. He became a railway and locomotive repairman for the Great
Northern Railway, and met Charles Russell, who encouraged him to
paint. Seltzer practiced his painting on the side, while working
for the railroad. He started making artwork full time in
1921.
He visited New York in 1926 - 27, going to museums and galleries
and meeting eastern buyers. His style shows some of Russell's
influence, but that can be said of almost every other western
painter after Fredrick Remington.
In 1930 he was commissioned by
Dr. Philip Cole to paint a series of miniatures on Montana
history that all but cost him his eyesight. He returned to
Montana to stay in 1936. |