Eldrid Arntzen
Eldrid Skjold Arntzen was born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn in 1935, which had a Norwegian immigrant population of around 50,000. She has been painting various styles of rosemaling, decorative painting on wood, since the age of ten, studying with rosemaling masters in Norway and the U.S. Her work has received recognition from members of the Norwegian-American community by being chosen as the Gold Medal winner in 1987, and the People’s Choice Award in 2003 at Vesterheim, the Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. In April 2004, Eldrid was an invited panelist and teacher for the first international symposium on rosemaling, organized by Vesterheim. This significant honor situates her among the leaders of this folk art form such as Nils Ellingsgard and Sigmund Aarseth from Norway.
Eldrid has traveled all over the country to demonstrate and teach rosemaling. In addition to her classes at Vesterheim's Handverkskole, she was a regular summer teacher at Fletcher Farm School in Vermont and Land of the Vikings in Pennsylvania. She has taught American rosemaling in Norway and conducted workshops for the Sons of Norway in Fairbanks, Alaska. As a master traditional artist in Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, Eldrid taught rosemaling design to three apprentices from Massachusetts and one from Connecticut. Eldrid’s house is full of boxes, chairs, bowls, cabinets, trays, and containers that she has painted for her family to use.
Rosemaling on wood furniture, household objects, and even walls flourished in rural Norway during the mid-17th to the mid-19th centuries and was transplanted to America by immigrants. There are numerous styles within rosemaling, requiring different designs, colors, and brush techniques. As well as the Valdres style, Eldrid paints styles including Hallingdal, Gudbrandsdal, Vest Agder, Aust Agder, and her favorite, the asymmetrical Telemark style which itself has several variants. A hallmark of Eldrid's skill is that she is one of only a few in the United States who are excellent painters of rosemaling styles from so many districts.
In 1996, her paintings were selected for an exhibition, "Norwegian Folk Art: Migration of a Tradition," that traveled throughout the U.S. and Norway. She was one of three American painters to participate in the 2004 international symposium, The Art of Rosemaling: Tradition Meets the Creative Mind. In 2005, Eldrid was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) with its National Heritage Fellowship Award, the nation's highest honor in traditional arts. NEA bestows this award to only twelve artists nationwide each year, chosen for their artistic excellence, cultural authenticity, and contributions to their communities.
