I discovered a cache of digitized Norwegian-American newspapers available via the Nasjonalbiblioteket, the Norwegian National Library. I took time out from a new tapestry mystery to return to one of my favorite research topics, Berthea Aske Bergh and her role in promoting Norwegian tapestry in the early 1900s. She’s the one who owned Sørover [Southward], Frida Hansen’s monumental tapestry that was missing for 90 years. Bergh was prominent in the Norwegian-American community; my search turned up 75 articles. One answered the two questions I am most frequently asked by viewers about Frida Hansen’s monumental tapestry of the swans and maidens.
How long did it take her? (My guess was about one year, as she produced at least one huge tapestry per year in the first decade of the 1900s.)
Did she weave it by herself? (No, I’m sure she had help, but I couldn’t say much beyond that.)
Those questions are addressed directly in this article about an exhibition in October, 1926. I assume the information was provided by Berthea Aske Bergh, who traveled to Norway to purchase the tapestry from Frida Hansen.
But back to the exhibit. Mrs. Bergh’s rooms contain the most beautiful Norwegian art we have seen in a long time. That which dominates is naturally the woven tapestries with Frida Hansen’s 15×16 foot large tapestry Sørover on the front wall. It took eight women two years to complete that work. It is valued by American newspapers at $100,000.
You can’t rely completely on the accuracy of newspaper articles – in the clip the dimensions are wrong. It’s not 15′ x 16′; it is 11’3” x 10’3”. Still, it’s the first time I have seen a description of how long it took to weave Southward.
I love digital archives.