Cultural Connections: Lars Kinsarvik and the Development of the National Style with Becky Lusk

Folk artist and instructor Becky Lusk leads a talk about the life and work of Lars Kinsarvik, which she researched as she traveled to museums in Oslo, Utne, Voss, Ålesund, and Asker and a church in Eid that Lars decorated. Through her journey, Becky learned the role Lars played in promoting the Norwegian national style through his carving.

Lars Trondsson Kinsarvik (1846–1925) was a woodcarver, writer, and folk musician, who is often called the creator of the Norwegian style. Kinsarvik had a major impact on the development of Norwegian woodcarving at the end of the 19th century. He was particularly inspired by the dragon style and Norse mythology, and he decorated many churches, tourist hotels and old-style cafés. Kinsarvik promoted this Norwegian nationalist style, called Viking Revival, at his woodcarving school on the Sunnmørefjord, where he trained an entire generation of young carvers. Kinsarvik’s carvings helped establish Norway on the international scene when they were prominently displayed at world fairs and at hotels serving the nation’s growing tourism industry.

Learn more about Becky, here: https://vesterheim.org/exhibit/becky-...

Learn more about Vesterheim folk art classes and presentations, here: https://vesterheim.org/folk-art-school/