Dines Carlsen, the only child of the painter Soren Emil Carlsen, was educated at home by his parents, his mother providing his general education and his father his artistic training. In childhood and youth, he was also his father's frequent subject.
Carlsen first exhibited in a National Academy annual in 1915. He continued to be a regular exhibitor and received the Julius Hallgarten Prize in 1919 and 1923. He also showed regularly in the annual exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, and in other major juried exhibitions nationwide.
In 1905 his father established the family's summer home in Falls Village, Connecticut. Upon Emil Carlsen's death in 1932, Dines moved to Falls Village permanently, spending winters in Summerville, South Carolina. He taught privately, taking students at home. During World War II he worked as a mechanical draftsman. Later in life he developed a strong interest in music, and served as president of Mountain Music, an organization that promoted chamber music.
Like his father, Dines Carlsen made a specialty of painting still lifes. His arrangements often featured pewter, silver, or bronze household items. However, he also painted flowers and landscape views of the Southwest. Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, presented exhibitions of his work in 1946, 1950, and 1954 and a memorial retrospective of work by Emil and Dines Carlsen in 1968.
