Ferdinand Alexander Wust was born in Dordrecht, Holland in 1837. He learned to paint from his father Chistoffel Wust who specialized in portrait and genre scenes. In the 1850s, Wust immigrated to the United States and eventually became an American citizen.

Not long after arriving in the United States Wust set up a studio in New York City which he maintained until at least 1869. Wust painted numerous landscapes of scenes throughout New York and New England, employing a style comparable to revered American landscape painters Albert Bierstadt and John F. Kensett.

He became an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1861 where he exhibited his work for over two decades. Also during this period, the Brooklyn Art association and the Pennsylvania Academy of Design held exhibitions of his work.

Wust, also known for his "vigorous Norway mountain scenery," was exhibiting his work in Norway by 1872. The artist returned to Europe in 1874 where he remained until his death in 1876.

Ferdinand Wust established a studio in New York in the 1850s through the 1860s. He painted in the Adirondacks and New England, and exhibited at the National Academy, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Brooklyn Art Association.