Nicolai Ulfsten (Nielsen) was a Norwegian painter. He studied in Karlsruhe from 1875 to 1877 where he was taught by Hans Gude. He regarded Ulfsten as one of his most talented students ever. Gude convinced Nicolai that he had to change his last name from Nielsen to Ulfsten. Right after his studies, Ulfstein traveled to Lister to paint. The following year in 1878 he traveled to Jærenfor for the first time. This resulted in a number fairly large paintings to smaller sketches.