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Wilhelm Holter Paintings: The 18 Most Famous, Through a Gallery's Eye
Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 18 works by Wilhelm Holter in our catalogue
In short
To the gallery's eye, Wilhelm Holter's most famous painting is Portrait Study of an old Woman (1883), whose original hangs in the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. Carl Arnoldus Müller (1889) and Portrait of Henrik Homan (1903) complete the trio every eye recognises. Of the 18 works by Wilhelm Holter in our catalog, the gallery presents the 18 most famous below, each original with its year, its museum and what makes it unique.
1842 – 1916, Drammen
Most works: Oslo Museum
The gallery's top 10 Wilhelm Holter paintings
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Wilhelm Holter paintings, ranked 11 to 18
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Jens Grønbech Døderlein2000
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From the Harbour at Langesund1875 · National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
13Carl Arnoldus Müller
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Portrait of Frederik Gottschalk von Haxthausen (1750-1825)Eidsvoll 1814
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Portrait Study of a young WomanNational Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
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Einar Westye Egeberg
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Ernst Ferdinand Lochmann
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Johan Fritzner Heiberg
Jens Grønbech Døderlein2000
12From the Harbour at Langesund1875 · National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
13Carl Arnoldus Müller
14Portrait of Frederik Gottschalk von Haxthausen (1750-1825)Eidsvoll 1814
15Portrait Study of a young WomanNational Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
16Einar Westye Egeberg
17Ernst Ferdinand Lochmann
18Johan Fritzner Heiberg
The museums that keep Wilhelm Holter's originals
The 3 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Wilhelm Holter | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Oslo Museum |
Oslo | 5 | Portrait of Henrik Homan, Amandus Theodor Schibsted, Portrait |
 National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design |
Oslo | 4 | Portrait Study of an old Woman, Interior, From the Harbour at Langesund |
 Eidsvoll 1814 |
Eidsvoll | 2 | Painting, Portrait of Frederik Gottschalk von Haxthausen (1750-1825) |
Wilhelm Holter, one signature painting per decade
Works per decade
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
Wilhelm Holter's paintings: the gallery answers
Which Wilhelm Holter painting is the most famous of all?Reveal the answer
Portrait Study of an old Woman (1883), National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. Carl Arnoldus Müller (1889) and Portrait of Henrik Homan (1903) come next.
How old was Wilhelm Holter on completing Portrait Study of an old Woman?Reveal the answer
41 years old: Portrait Study of an old Woman dates from 1883, and Wilhelm Holter was born in 1842.
Which are Wilhelm Holter's top 10 paintings?Reveal the answer
Portrait Study of an old Woman, Carl Arnoldus Müller, Portrait of Henrik Homan, Interior, Christen Heiberg, Amandus Theodor Schibsted, Portrait, Painting, Portrait of Arne Christensen and Portrait. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
How many works did Wilhelm Holter create?Reveal the answer
Our catalog holds 18 works by Wilhelm Holter, dated from 1875 to 1915.
Where do Wilhelm Holter's most famous originals hang?Reveal the answer
Mostly in Oslo Museum (Oslo), National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (Oslo) and Eidsvoll 1814 (Eidsvoll). The museum table above lists them all.
When did Wilhelm Holter create the most famous paintings?Reveal the answer
In 1910s: 5 of the 18 works on this page were made then, Amandus Theodor Schibsted among them.
Which are Wilhelm Holter's earliest and latest famous works?Reveal the answer
On this page, the earliest is From the Harbour at Langesund (1875) and the latest Portrait of Arne Christensen (1915).
Which Wilhelm Holter originals does the Oslo Museum hold?Reveal the answer
Portrait of Henrik Homan, Amandus Theodor Schibsted and Portrait: the Oslo Museum, Oslo holds 5 of the works on this page.
Wilhelm Holter: the artist
A Shift in Focus
Wilhelm Holter began his path in a different way than the one that would define his life. He spent several years working as a lawyer before turning his attention to the canvas. His early training took him to Karlsruhe, where he studied landscape painting under Hans Gude. It was a quiet start, focused on the natural world, but a change in direction was coming. Under the influence of Carl Gussow, his interests shifted away from the horizon and toward the human form. He followed Gussow to Berlin in the fall of 1875, leaving the landscapes behind to pursue figure painting.
By 1878, his apprenticeship was complete, and he remained in Berlin for several years. During this time, he began to find his footing in the art community, even leading a painting class at the Verein der Künstlerinnen starting in 1882. His work began to appear in exhibitions, such as the Academy exhibition in Berlin in 1879, where he presented a figure composition titled Aus alten Mären. It was during these years that his ability to capture a person's character through their physical presence became his primary language.
The Portraitist's Hand
The way Holter approached a subject was marked by a specific kind of attention to detail. In 1879, he exhibited a full-length portrait of a lady, and by 1883, he had produced Lady with a Fan. These works were not merely likenesses; they were studies in how a person occupies a space. One particular portrait, painted in 1879 and believed to be of Mrs. Marie Løscher, drew attention for its fine characterization and the way he handled the human figure. He had a way of looking at a sitter that went beyond the surface, focusing on the weight of a gaze or the tilt of a head.
His later years were spent in Oslo, where he held a significant position in the local art scene. From 1885 until 1912, he served as the director of the National School of Crafts and Art Industry. This period saw him balancing his own creative output with the responsibility of shaping the next generation of makers. His paintings from this era, such as Interior with a woman wearing a red hat and tie, show a continued interest in the quiet, private moments of domestic life and the subtle textures of clothing and light.
Legacy in Form
Holter's contribution to Norwegian art is found in his commitment to the figure. He moved from the broad strokes of landscape to the precise requirements of portraiture, finding a way to make the individual subject the center of his world. His work remains a record of the people and the interiors of his time, captured through a lens of careful observation. His life's work reflects a transition from the study of nature to the study of the soul as seen through the face and the body.