Sven Birger Sandzén was born in Blidsberg, Sweden in 1871. He studied art in Stockholm with Anders Zorn and Richard Berg. In 1894, he traveled to Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas to teach languages and assist in the art and vocal music departments. He remained at Bethany College and became the principal art instructor in 1899. Birger retired in 1946. During his career, he was a prolific painter and printmaker, completing in excess of 2,600 oil paintings by the time of his death in 1956. He exhibited extensively in the United States and Sweden. His works are found in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the Chicago Art Institute, and the National Museum of Stockholm, among other prestigious institutions. In addition, Sandzén was the founder of the Mid-West Art Exhibition held annually in Lindsborg and the Smoky Hill Art Club.