Nicolai Christian Mustad (26 December 1878 – 13 October 1970) was a Norwegian factory owner. He was the son of

Hans Mustad Hans Mustad (26 January 1837 – 27 February 1918) was a Norwegian businessperson. He was instrumental in shaping the company O. Mustad & Søn. Mustad was born in Vardal as the son of Ole Hovelsen Mustad. He was a brother of Kristian Maurit ...

, and was co-owner of the company O. Mustad & Søn from 1905–1959. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1956. In 1908, Mustad bought a

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

painting in 1908 on the advice of Norwegian art historian and conservator

Jens Thiis Jens Thiis (12 May 1870 – 27 June 1942) was a Norwegian Art history, art historian, conservator and a prominent museum director. He was conservator at the Nordenfjeld Industrial Arts Museum (''Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum'') in Tron ...

, but soon consigned it to an attic when either the French ambassador to Sweden or

Auguste Pellerin Auguste Pellerin (20 February 1853, Paris - 18 October 1929, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French entrepreneur and art collector. He was one of the most important collectors of the works of Édouard Manet and Paul Cézanne at the beginning of the 20th ...

, the Norwegian consul in Paris, suggested it was a fake or wrongly attributed. The painting languished there until Mustad's death in 1970, when it was sold to another collector. Two failed attempts were made to attribute it as a van Gogh, but it was finally identified as ''

Sunset at Montmajour ''Sunset at Montmajour'' is a landscape in oils painted by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh on 4 July 1888. It was painted while the artist was at Arles, France and depicts a landscape of garrigue with the ruins of Montmajour Abbey in the back ...

'', painted by van Gogh in 1888.

References

1878 births 1970 deaths Businesspeople from Oslo {{Norway-business-bio-stub