German painter in oils and watercolour of landscapes, still life and figure compositions, lithographer, etcher and wood-engraver.
Born near Nolde, a village in North Schleswig. Changed his name from Hansen to Nolde in 1902. Worked as wood carver in several furniture factories, studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Karlsruhe 1888-9 and began to sketch landscapes and portraits in his spare time.
Taught drawing at the Museum of Industrial Arts in St Gall, Switzerland, 1892-7. First oil paintings 1896.
Decided to devote himself to painting and studied at Friedrich Fehr's private school in Munich 1898-9 and with Adolf Holzel in Dachau 1899; also spent part of 1899-1900 in Paris, where he attended the Académie Julian.
In the following years, lived mainly in Berlin and on the island of Alsen.