Johan Nordhagen
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[edit] Roots
Johan Nordhagen was born on March 23, 1856 in Veldre, and grew up in the cotters place Nordhagen under the farm Flisaker. His father was from Grue, and had his relatives in Finland. He worked as a cartwheelmaker. His mother Ahlis was from Veldre. Johan grew up in poverty.
Johan drew a lot in his childhood, and was often told to do something useful instead. It was just a coincidence that Johan in his youth made contact with persons who helped him making a career in art. Around the age of 17 he came to the capital Kristiania, and started working in the bookstore of the christian organization Lutherstiftelsen.
[edit] Art school
People noticed his talent for drawing, and it was arranged that he should study at the Royal drawing school (Kongelige Tegneskole) with sculptor Middelthun. Later he was employed by Norges Geografiske Oppmåling (Norwegian geographical survey) as litographer and terraindrawer) and won two scholarships that enabled him to travel to study abroad, fist to Copenhagen and then to Paris. In Norway there was no art printing expertise so a committee was established to work towards establishing a study of graphic art at Kunst og Håndverksskolen (art and crafts school). Johan Nordhagen's background in lithographic portraits and etching, made him the obvious leader and teacher of this education. In 1897 he got a substantial grant from the Stortinget (The national assembly) to go to Germany to obtain even more knowledge for the assignment.
[edit] The King's order of merit
October 1, 1899 the class for etching was established. Nordhagen headed it for 20 years, and without his work Norwegian graphic art would not have been able to obtain the position it holds today. Johan Nordhagen is one of the few to have received The King's order of merit from two different kings. He received the first (in silver) from <Swedish> king Oscar II in 1892, and (in gold) from <Norwegian> king Haakons in 1929. He also received several medals and recognitions from exhibitions around the World. In his older days he often visited Veldre, where he had a vacation house until 1937. Even after selling that, he often visited acquaintances in the community to make sketches and studies for later artistic work. Johan Nordhagen had an enormous graphic productjon (litography and etchings), but also drawings and paintings, his artistic and procuctive career spanned over 80 years. He died August 28, 1956, approx. 100 ½ years old.
[edit] The art book
Many of Johan Nordhagen's motives were from Ringsaker and Veldrebygda. His portraits of both famous and unknown persons, of local community originals, clothing, work situations, interiors, and building customs has a tremendous cultural historic value and means a lot to his descendants.
Veldre Historielag in 1988 published a richly illustrated book on the grapic artist Johan Nordhagen where the author describes the artist'adolescence and artistic life.
The book contains 87 pages and can be bought from Veldre Historielag (historical society) at the cost of Nkr 200.- The society has also over the years acquired quite a lot of etchings + one big painting from Johan Nordhagen's substantial production. Some of Johan Nordhagens motives har been published as postcards, in black and white (Nkr 15,-) and colours (Nkr 25,-).
