Gunnar Åberg was born in 1869 and was not even 25 years old when he passed away at the beginning of 1894. Despite his short life, Gunnar Åberg managed to sample works that gave promise of something big.

Alongside Bruno Liljefors, he can be said to be the foremost animal painter of his time. Åberg was a student at the Art Academy in Stockholm 1886-1892. During his time at the academy, he received permission to draw animals at the University of Veterinary Medicine and apparently received strong impressions from Liljefors during his student years.

Åberg's interest in animals was also expressed when he and his best friend Axel Sjöberg made illustrations for August Strindberg's book "Flower paintings and animal pieces. ...