Per Lysne (December 9, 1880 – September 21, 1947) was a Norwegian-American artist most associated with bringing the traditional Norwegian folk art of Rosemaling to the United States.A Quest for Norwegian Folk Art in America (Tora Bøhn. Norwegian-American Historical association. Volume 19: Page 116)The art of rosemaling (Recollection Wisconsin. October 20, 2014)
Biography Per Andersen Lysne was born on the Ljøsne farm in Lærdal Municipality in Nordre Bergenhus county, Norway.
He had been trained in rosemaling by Anders Olsen, an artist whose work was recognized at the Exposition Universelle at Paris in 1893. Lysne married Ingeborg Nundal (1882–1940) in 1906. Lysne and his wife immigrated to Stoughton, Wisconsin in 1907. After the death of his first wife, Lysne married Olga Ethun (1882–1956) in 1945. He died at a Stoughton hospital in 1947 following a heart attack.
Lysne specialized in redecorating antique chests and painting large platters. He developed a thriving rosemaling enterprise and taught the art to a select few. His signature piece, the smorgasbord plate, was not an object that typically had been decorated, but Lysne's new form had a pervasive influence.Lysne, Per 1880 - 1947 (Dictionary of Wisconsin History)Lærdal Bygdebok II, Espe, Alfred - Hovland, Kåre, (Lærdal Kommune, 1990), side 116 Lysne also decorated home interiors in southeastern Wisconsin.
The Stoughton Historical Museum has an exhibit devoted to Lysne's work. The Per Lysne Collection is maintained at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
References
Other sources The Fathers of American Decorative Painting (The Decorative Arts Collection. Gretchen Cagle Publications, Inc.) Benedict, Claus Matthias (ed) (2012) Per Lysne (Phon)
External links
Stoughton Historic Society Wisconsin Historical Society Decorative Art Collection