Olof Hermelin was a Swedish landscape painter, antiquarian and author born in 1827 in Småland to parents August Söderling Hermelin and Ebba Sofia Hermelin. He was the grandson of the Swedish magistrate Olof Hermelin. After studies in Uppsala and at military school in Stockholm, he was appointed lieutenant in Västergötland-Dal Regiment in 1850. He left the service the following year, and in 1852, at the age of 25, he got married to Malin Lucie Lily Post.

     Hermelin’s artistic studies began in Stockholm and Paris. During his school days in Stockholm, he took classes at the Art Academy's principle school and then received private lessons from the landscape painter Lars Theodor Billing (1816−1892). In 1870 he took a study trip that included stops at Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Paris and then through Belgium and Holland. During his stay in France he came into contact with the artists of Fontainebleau Forest. This school of Barbizon artists had a great impact on his paintings for the next two decades. He also was inspired by the National Romantic movement taking place in Swedish art at the time.

     In Paris at that time were the artists Carl Fredrik Hill and Alfred Wahlberg, who had made a name for themselves in Sweden, but their art style was met with little understanding. Hermelin defended them in the Swedish press by publishing articles in Nya Dagligt Allehanda and Ny Illustrarad Tidning.

     His landscape paintings were characterized by Realism with an often delicate color treatment. His inspiration for his art came from such things as farmers working in the fields and the notion of the untouched nature. He gave his paintings titles like, “At sowing time”, “Archipelago Dusk”, and “Livestock at the barn”.

     Hermelin was an associate member at the Art Academy and in 1876 was commissioner for the Swedish art department at the World Exhibition in Philadelphia.
In 1885 he joined the Opponent Movement, along with such notable artists as Carl Larsson and Ernst Josephson. This was a group of young Swedish artists supporting the art style of Realism, and opposed the academic traditions of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts − including that of not allowing admission to women.

     Olof Hermelin is most known for his rich production of oil paintings depicting the Swedish countryside. He also published dozens of short stories and articles about archeology in newspapers and magazines. Although less known about Hermelin, between 1866 and 1876 he took a travel scholarship from the Royal Academy of Letters where he surveyed primarily religious parishes in Sörmland. Utilizing his artistic talent, the antiquarian reports he produced were richly illustrated with ink drawings, pencil drawings and watercolors which made him uniquely suited for this type of research.
    He immersed himself further in the country's cultural heritage through excavations at Birka as an Ancient Monument Researcher. The archaeological site of Birka was an eighth-century Viking trading village in Sweden and is generally regarded as Sweden's oldest town. It is an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking Scandinavia and their influence on the subsequent history of Europe. Hermelin’s excavations at Birka were fundamental to the understanding of Sweden’s greatest archeological treasure and his published materials are still used by scientists today.

     The artist is represented in these public institutions:

• National Museum in Stockholm

• The Finnish National Gallery

• Skagens Museum

• Gothenburg Art Museum

• Malmö Museum

• Avenue in Strömsholm Park, Sweden

• Fürstenberg's gallery

• Gripsholm Castle: The Swedish National Portrait Collection