Qvistorff was one of the last traditional marine artists in Denmark. Qvistorff was strongly influenced by his parents to be a business man and never got the chance to study art in his youth. However, Qvistorff continued to paint privately and sent one his seascapes to the Royal Art Academy in 1921. The work was exhibited in the same year at Charlottenborg and everyone was curious by the young unknown talent. Two of the visitors at the exhibition were the known artists L.A Ring and H.A Brendekilde. They were fascinated by Qvistorff’s raw and untrained talent and they both encouraged and helped Quistorff to continue his works. 3 years later Qvistorff was finally able to quit his job as a businessman and worked as a full-time marine artist. Qvistorffs works were known for their mixture of impressionism and realism. Qvistorff wanted his works to be as realistic as possible. He often sailed around in his motorboat looking for ships and even followed them in his boat in order to capture their movements on the canvas. Qvistorff was highly respected by everyone from the Royal navy to the common sailors. His seascapes did not only give a stunning accurate portray but also had a special psychological charisma to it that showed the ships personality. Needless to say, Qvistorff works were in very high demand and did numerous requests for Admirals at the Royal Navy, Captains, shipping and cruise companies and shipyards. In 1931 Qvistorff received additional fame for his illustrations for the monthly maritime magazine “ Vikingen” Qvistorff did several of the coloured covers and many illustrations to the articles.
Auction price example.
Victor Qvistorff is listed in artprice.com. His ships portraits has been sold for $2,698. (Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen 30-10-99. Lot no: 413 )
Øbro Art Gallery 