Emil Janel was born in Orsa, Sweden in 1897. He began whittling at a young age six, and by 1921 was exhibiting his work in Stockholm. In the 1920s he moved to Canada, then to Seattle, Washington before finally settling in San Francisco. Janel began studying art at the California School of Fine Arts and spent much of his time at Russian River where he gathered Alder wood, his preferred type of wood for carving. Alder wood has a mild pink color that was referential of skin tones. While working on his sculptures, he kept the wood in water, in order to keep them flexible.

Janel also became an accomplished painter in California, but remains best known for his exaggerated sculptures of musicians, salesmen, traditional Scandinavians in work and play. Dramatized and extreme facial features on his subjects are recognizable signatures of Janel’s style. His work is identified as Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving. In the field or woodworking, Janel is considered a master and 1965 Emil Janel was awarded the Royal Order of Vasa by the king of Sweden for his contribution to the arts.