Vesterheim Museum premiering new "Art and Crafts of Ancient Scandinavia” exhibit

DECORAH, Iowa — Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, will celebrate the opening of their newest exhibition, "The Art and Crafts of Ancient Scandinavia", on May 11.

A special reception and presentation will be help at 1pm in the Vesterheim Commons by exhibit artist Sven Lindauer.

Lindauer is an artist, author, and publisher whose professional career spans over 40 years and is also the former Official Historical Artist for the U.S. Marshal Service National Museum and for the National Geographic television.

The exhibit showcases original oil paintings by Lindauer with specially carved frames for each of the paintings that he also crafted. The paintings focus on Viking scenes, handcrafts, and landscapes, with the models in the paintings being real people that Lindauer encountered in everyday life.

This exhibition is for those who value the arts and crafts of Scandinavia and those interested in the daily life of people during 700 and 1000 CE." Lauryn Johnson, Vesterheim Collection Assistant, said. "It is also for those who love painting artistry,

Admission to the museum is free during the event.

There will also be a free webinar presentation with Lindauer on Zoom on June 9 at 1pm. Lindauer will demonstrate his painting during Decorah's Nordic Fest celebration on July 26-27.

You can learn more about the exhibit and Sven Lindauer at vesterheim.org