Painter, etcher, teacher.  Born in San Francisco in 1886.  Hansen received his first art instruction from his father, Herman, the famous painter of the old West and frontier life.  The younger Hansen later studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute under Arthur Mathews during 1903-06 followed by two years in Stuttgart, Germany at the Royal Academy under Carlos Grethe.  After visiting the art centers of Paris, Munich, Holland, and Belgium, he signed-on as deckhand to a Norwegian steam trawler, the first of many boats which he would crew during the next four years.  

Returning to San Francisco in 1912, Hansen taught at UC Berkeley and the California School of Fine Arts.  Settling in Monterey in 1913, he taught private classes and was instrumental in forming the Carmel Art Insitute.  Hansen had a studio-home at 716 Pacific until building a home next door to artist Julian Greenwell on El Dorado Street, where he lived the remainder of his life.  His seascapes, coastal scenes, and depictions of the fishing industry of the Monterey Peninsula brought him to the pinnacle of fame in American art.  He is quoted, "Every move I have made and everything that I have done has always been to go back to the water and the men who gave it its romance."

Member: Associate of the National Academy of Design (1926); Member, National Academy of Design (1948); Carmel Art Association (President, 1934-1937, 1948); San Francisco Art Association; California Society of Etchers; Salmagundi Club; Societe Royale des Beaux Arts (Brussels).

Exhibited: International Expo (Brussels), 1910 (1st Prize); California Printmakers, 1910 (Gold Medal); Helgesen Gallery (San Francisco), 1913, 1916 (solos); Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, 1914; Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 (silver, medal); San Francisco Art Association, 1915-25 (silver and gold medals; Oakland Art Gallery, 1917 (solo); Print Rooms (SF), 1920 (solo); National Academy of Design, 1920 (prize), 1925 (prize); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1923 (prize); Painters of the West, 1925 (gold medal); Smithsonian Institute, 1928 (solo); De Young Museum, 1932 (solo); Grafton Galleries (SF), 1934 (solo); Penthouse Gallery (SF), 1934 (solo); Paris, 1938 (gold medal); Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939; Chicago Society of Etchers, 1947 (1st prize); California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1957 (solo); Oakland Museum, 1959 (solo), 1981; Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1986, 1993 (solos).  

In: San Francisco Museum of Art; De Young Museum; Monterey Peninsula Museum; San Diego Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Oakland Museum; Library of Congress; Newark Museum; NY Public Library; Cleveland Museum; Harrison Library (Carmel); National Academy of Design.

(Source: Hughes, Edan Milton.  "Artists in California: 1786-1940."  Sacramento: Crocker Art Museum, 2002.)