Thorvald Erichsen was a Norwegian Post-Impressionist painter; primarily known for landscapes and still lifes.

Thorvald Erichsen was born in Trondheim, Norway. He was the son of Ernst Erichsen (1820-1869) and Trine Jensine Rian (1829-1884). Erichsen's father was a confectioner and died when Erichsen was very young.

Although at first he wanted to be a pianist, in 1886 he began studying law, then dropped out and attended a painting school run by Knud Bergslien, where he completed a course in arts and crafts. He later moved to Copenhagen, where he became a student of Christian Zahrtmann, who had a greater influence on his artistic development.