Born Caspar Hjalmar Emerson III in  New York City in 1911, and in 1946 legally changed his name to Hjalmar Amundsen in honor of his great-uncle, explorer Roald Amundsen, who located the center of the South Pole the year his great-nephew was born.

He was in his early twenties when he first began painting, claiming that he only did so, because it was  easier than any other work he could think of.  Amundsen loved the sea, and had a lifelong interest in sailing and fishing.  While growing up, Hjalmar and his father would drive to the East End of Long Island, and he'd go out in a fishing boat.  Later he bought a small boat and went out sailing and fishing as often as he could.

As an adult, the young artist moved back to New York and spent time painting in and around Gloucester and Provincetown, Massachusetts.  In his early career, he is believed to have created up to 275 paintings a year over a period of six years under the name of Enwright, and it is now believed that J.J. Enwright and Hjalmar Amundsen is one and the same artist.

Living in Greenwich Village, he was one of the founders of the Washington Square Art Show in New York, where he sold many of his works, and he painted covers for Motor Boating Magazine, which brought in $100 each.  In 1946 he moved to Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York, with his second wife Nancy. Amundsen opened a studio and lived in the same building, becoming a well-liked figure in the community.  He painted waterfront images, sailing ships, fishing boats, and the New England coastline.Cappy lived a bohemian lifestyle, making a living with his painting, but by the 1980s  times had become tough, and it was through the initiative of friends and the community that his house was restored.  He died in Brookhaven Memorial Hospital on January 18, 2001.

 

 Blue Hill Bay Gallery   11 Tenney Hill, Blue Hill, Maine 04614