Peder Balke (1804 - 1887) was a Norwegian Romantic landscape artist. In his youth, he lived on a farm where his talent was noticed by local farmers. They put their money together to fund his education and, in return, Balke decorated several of their farms. In the 1820s to 40s, Balke had several masters from Denmark and Stockholm, the most famous of them being Johan Christian Dahl. In 1836, he married Karen Eriksdatter Strand and together contributed to the improvement of the conditions of workers during the construction of a new part of Oslo. He is also credited for grants and pensions not only for deserving artists, but also for ordinary men and women. His paintings garnered such admiration during exhibitions that he often sold all of them and came home only with money. Works such as Rough Seas and Stenind in Fog < / a>, for example, can be seen in the galleries in Versailles, in the National Gallery in Oslo and Stockholm or in the UK.