Höckert left Sweden in 1861 and visited Spain, Italy, and Northern Africa. The following year, he participated at the World's Fair in London as a commissioner at the Swedish art section. Höckert returned to Sweden in 1862, was hired as an art director at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm in 1863, and became a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in 1864. Around this time, he completed the painting "Bellman i Sergels atelier". From 1864 to 1865, Höckert also provided illustrations (and political caricatures) for the newly established magazine "Ny illustrerad tidning".