Born in Faberg, Norway in 1863, Niels Lund travelled widely before his death in London in 1916. In addition to his travelling, Lund studied at the Academie Julian in Paris and at the Royal Academy, London.

The wide range of subjects tackled by Lund included landscapes, townscapes and portraits. In his masterpiece, Heart of the Empire we can see a view of London from a Victorian perspective that not only shows the intensity of London at that point in history, but provides a wonderfully atmospheric and powerful panorama of the great capital city. The viewer's eye is swept from the rooftops of the financial heart of the City of London, to St. Paul's Cathedral and along the River Thames to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Thus, in one sweep of the eye we can view three of the powerhouses of the Victorian era: City, Church and Parliament.

Framed picture The Heart of the Empire by Niels Moller Lund