Queensborough Bridge

Johann Berthelsen was a celebrated American impressionist known for his poetic renditions of New York City. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Berthelsen immigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He first expressed his artistic inclinations through music, a passion that played out over the course of his career. Berthelsen was a highly trained baritone who toured the country with the Grand Opera Company, ran the voice department at the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music, and opened his own teaching studio in New York City in 1920.

The Victorian critics John Ruskin and Walter Pater likened painting to music,