Sigurd Winge grew up in Hamburg. In the difficult situation towards the end of World War I, the family moved to Kristiania in 1917, contact with Hamburg was maintained through the ties with the family.

Winge started making pictures early, and some works from the late 20s seem to show that he was based on Edvard Munch's painting. In the years 1930–32, the influence of Axel Revold is felt. At the Academy of Fine Arts, Winge ended a close friendship with Gert Jynge who, like Winge, was strongly concerned with the theoretical aspects of visual art. Winge and Jynge were both briefed on developments in German expressionism. In the years to come, they became exponents of a German-oriented faction within Norwegian painting. Erling Enger, Bj...