The best-known artists represented in the gallery are:

Thorolf Holmboe (1866 - 1935)

Born and raised at Gløsen, in Vefsn, Helgeland. Studied under renowned painters Carl W. Barth and Hans Gude, the latter tutored in Berlin.

Between 1890 and 1915, Holmboe was a very popular illustrator, including the design of the fishball packaging for Vesteraalen Hermetikkfabrikk, the woollen blankets on the old Hurtigrute ships and the classic bluebell design of the Porsgrund Porcelain Works.

As the economy improved from 1914 onwards, art came into demand and Holmboe produced a large number of paintings depicting bathing, garden scenes and landscapes. He also painted scenes from Northern Norway. His paintings from Lofoten, Helgeland and east of Oslo have become popular since his death.  Holmboe was a good friend of painter Edvard Munch, from whom he drew his early inspiration. One of Holmboe's best known works, "Cemetery in Lofoten" hangs in the gallery.

Even Ulving (1863 - 1952)
Born and raised at Ulvingen, in Vega, Helgeland.  Moved to Kristiania (Oslo) when he was eight, and worked as a handicraft painter before starting to study art in Munich, under Heinz Heim and Carl F. Smith 1885 - 1886.

In 1887, he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris under Adolphe William Bouguereau.  In 1889, he moved to Henningsvær in Lofoten, and spent the next 15 years painting scenes from the area. These are reckoned to be the pinnacle of his extensive production, and he has since been recognised as one of the most influential Northern Norwegian painters.

Ulving moved to Åsgårdsstrand in Southern Norway in 1914. He produced a large number of paintings from this area, and travelled abroad extensively. After 1914, he painted very few paintings from Northern Norway.

Gunnar Berg (1863 - 1893)
Born and raised in Svolvær, Lofoten, where his family ran a wholesale fish business, and owned a large part of the town.  After his apprenticeship in his father's shop in Svolvær, he moved to Bergen in 1882 to study economics and business. He also studied drawing under painter and photographer G. J. Nicolaysen, and in 1883-1885 studied painting in Düsseldorf.

He then moved back to Lofoten where he built a studio at Svinøya with his parents' help. The studio has been modernised and restored. In the late winter of 1886, Berg worked in Lofoten with Otto Sinding. Their paintings were often compared in newspaper articles and Berg was accused of copying Sinding. Apparently, their friendship cooled considerably as a result. Berg only lived until the age of 30.

In 1893, he contracted cancer, and had one of his legs amputated. Nevertheless, he moved to Berlin, where he died in the winter of the same year. Berg is now regarded as the greatest of Northern Norway's painters, and one of the most important in Norway within his field. His painting "From the Port of Svolvær" is regarded as one of his best. He is buried in the families' chapel at Gunnarholmen. A bust was erected in his memory in 1994.

Otto Sinding (1842 - 1909)

Sinding was born in Kongsvinger. He took a degree in law in 1860 and was employed as a secretary by the former Ministry of the Interior. He studied at art school in Kristiania in 1868, and under Hans Gude in Germany from 1869 to 1873.

He travelled extensively throughout Europe, and gained a reputation within German culture. He exhibited in several German cities and also presented his paintings in several exhibitions at the Paris salon. He maintained contact with Norway, and became fascinated by the landscape and people of Northern Norway.

During the winter of 1886, he was in Lofoten, where he found the ideas and inspiration for many of his most famous paintings, including "Funeral in Lofoten", "From Reine in Lofoten" and "Snowy Landscape from Svolvær". During this period, he became a close friend of Svolvær painter, Gunnar Berg. Along with Peder Balke and Gunnar Berg, Sinding helped make Lofoten famous in the art world, including through numerous exhibitions in Germany. This led to more and more painters heading for Lofoten to work. The Golden Age began.

FRANTS DIDERIK BØ  (1820-1891)
Became apprenticed to master painter Momsen in his home town of Bergen. He later studied in Copenhagen, and became a student of landscape painter Christen Købke. In 1849, he moved to Paris, where he studied for the next eight years under the flower painters Theude Grønland and Saint Jean.

The year before, 1848, he embarked on journeys to the Netherlands and Belgium to study art, and later visited art centres such as Düsseldorf, Dresden and Berlin.

 He had painted his first still life painting as an apprentice, and went on to specialise in this style. In 1851, he painted "A Bunch of Grapes" which was bought by the French government. The following year, his painting "Pieces of Fruit" won a "Mention Honorable" and was bought by the National Gallery.

In 1858 - 1861 and 1863-1864, he was resident in Nordland, where the scenery and birdlife in particular influenced his choice of subjects. He married Hanna Maria Arnesen, a teacher from Lofoten, in 1864. The same year, the newly-weds moved to Bergen where Bøe lived for the rest of his life.

Karl Erik Harr ( 1940 - )
Painter, graphic artist, illustrator and author. Trained at the Academy of Art and went on to create a position as one of the most popular and renowned contemporary painters.

Harr draws his inspiration from Nordland, particularly Kjerringøy, Hamarøy, Helgeland and Lofoten. He has given a large number of solo exhibitions in Norway and abroad, in Europe and Asia. His work adorns Hurtigrute ships M/S Nordkapp, M/S Richard With and M/S Narvik, plus the Nationale Scene in Bergen, and Bergen City Hall. he has also painted altarpieces at Værøy and Rolvsøy churches and Hamsun illustrations in the Hamsun Gallery, Tranøy.

Over the years, he has illustrated several of Knut Hamsun's novels, and written and illustrated a number of books himself.

Harr is a representative of the new-romantic movement, which appeared at the end of the 1960s and has been the subject of much debate over the years within Norwegian culture. In recent years, he has concentrated on painting seascapes in particular.

Ole JUUL (1852 - 1927)
Born and raised on a remote farm in Dypfjorden, near Henningsvær, Lofoten.

After his confirmation, he moved to Bergen along with many others from Northern Norway. He was an apprentice of Anders Askevold, and studied photography.

His cousin, Adelsteen Normann, encouraged him to concentrate on a career as a professional painter, and in 1876 he moved to Düsseldorf, where he studied under Euden Ducker.

Juul never made his name as an artist within his own lifetime, supporting himself as a photographer in the winter, and painting in the summer. In an article on newly-discovered painters from 1915, Alf Harbitz writes: "He continues to paint as much as ever, the old nobleman. He lives alone, is friendly towards people, but does not seek their company".