Born in Norway, Maine in 1886 Akers opened his first studio around 1910, working as a photographer and scenic painter. Gained reputation for his oil portraits (Commissioned to paint Chief Justice Earl Warren) and landscapes in the 1930s, after studying with John Joseph Enneking and Douglas Volk. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1936. His landscapes included Maine subjects such as Mt. Katahdin and Kezar Lake. Akers was a woodcarver and often made his own frames.