His most important images date from the 1860s. His "Grand Panoramic Scene from a Norwegian Plateau" was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1867. He was not a great colourist and was too much a realist to be led by imagination. However, he made use of clear, cool colors, with magnificent views of plains and distant mountains. The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo owns two of his major works, "Fra Valle i Setesdal" (1852) and "Fra Jotunheimen" (1866), besides ten smaller landscapes. In 1850 Johan Fredrik Eckersberg married Laura Martin Hansen (1821–1878). He was appointed a Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1870. Eckersberg died of tuberculosis in Sandvika, near Christiania.