Johann Berthelsen began his career as a professional singer. Graduating from the Chicago Musical College in 1905, Berthelsen toured the United States and Canada, performing in operas, Gibert & Sullivan operettas and concerts until 1910. Thereafter he taught singing and began painting in his spare time.

In 1920 Berthelsen moved to New York City and continued to give voice lessons and paint. In 1925 he was elected to the American Watercolor Society. When the stock market crashed in 1929, Berthelsen lost his voice students and thus his livelihood. A friend suggested he start painting in oils, which he did, and gradually he began to sell his work. Like many artists, Berthelsen became involved in various New Deal art projects, which enabled him to make a living. He began painting full time and exhibiting his work regularly through the 1940s and 1950s.

The artist’s most popular paintings were scenes of New York City, often in snow. Berthelsen’s impressionist painting style lent itself well to the atmospheric haze of winter in the city. This painting of the Standard Oil Building captures the hustle bustle of the street shrouded in snow. Such prominent figures as William Randolph Hearst, Frank Sinatra, Ethel Merman and Dinah Shore all collected Berthelsen’s work.