A PAINT-ON-WOOD TRADITION
Lush, bright with primary and secondary colors, rosemåling is a style of folk painting on wood that originated in rural Norway. Floral polychrome designs are expressed with C and S strokes and feature scrolling and flowing lines, as well as script and scenic additions. Also common in rural Sweden, rosemåling came to the New World as Scandinavians settled here, often carrying their belongings in beautifully painted trunks.
The craft was revived in the 20th century when a Norwegian immigrant, decorative artist Per Lysne, turned to rosemåling during the Great Depression of the 1930s.