Carl Eduard Onken, son of a painter, was initially taught by his father. From 1869 to 1879 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Eduard Peithner von Lichtenfels. In the following years, Onken was honored with several awards and scholarships. He traveled to Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany as well as Switzerland. Carl Eduard Onken was a landscape painter who rendered his themes in a realistic manner. His paintings are held by private collections and galleries in Oldenburg, Prague and Vienna.