Michael Dahl, selfportrait, in the National Portrait Gallery, London

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Michael Dahl (September 29, 1659 – October 20, 1743) was a Swedish portrait painter, who lived and worked in London for the larger part of his life.

He was born at Stockholm and received his first professional education there from the Hungarian-born painter Martin Hannibal, and continued his training with court painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. He left Sweden in 1682, and traveled over Antwerp to London, where he was influenced by the portrait work of Godfrey Kneller. He then crossed over to Paris, and made his way at last to Rome, there taking up his abode for a considerable time, painting the portraits of the exiled Swedish Queen Christina and other celebrities. In 1688 he returned to England, and became for some years a dangerous rival to Kneller. He was one of the founders of the Saint Luke's Academy and was a member of the Rose and Crown Club. He died in London.

His portraits still exist in many houses, but his name is not always preserved with them. Nagler (Künstler-Lexicon) says those at Hampton Court and at Petworth contest the palm with those of the better known and vastly more employed painter.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Wilhelm Nisser, "Dahl, Michael", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, Vol. 9 (1931).
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (includes photo)