Otte Sköld was for several decades a prominent figure in Swedish art. Following experiments with Cubism, he moved on in the early 1920s to a New Objective style of painting. For many years he was involved in training other artists, in Paris and Stockholm. In 1950 he became Director General of the Nationalmuseum, working there to promote the creation of the Moderna Museet in 1958. Ullman’s portrait was painted in 1924, when both artists were living in Paris.