Gunnar Gunnarsson Helland
Gunnar Gunnarsson Helland (January 26, 1885 – April 20, 1976) was a Norwegian-American Hardanger fiddle maker.[1]
Background
Gunnar Gunnarsson Helland was a member of the Helland fiddle maker family of Telemark, Norway. Helland worked in the traditional region of Bø, Norway in his father Olav Gunnarsson Helland's workshop until he emigrated to USA in 1901 and settled in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
Career
Together with his brother Knut Gunnarsson Helland, he started the Helland Brothers fiddle maker workshop in 1905. His brother died in 1920 and Gunnar ran "Helland Brothers" alone until he closed down in 1927, since the demand for Hardanger fiddles was declining.
In 1927 Gunnar moved to Minneapolis and spent two years working for Jacob Lundh, a well-known violin maker there. In 1929 he moved to Fargo, North Dakota where he operated a shop in a few neighbouring buildings until he established the Helland Music Company on the third floor of a building on Broadway. The business remained there until 1962, when it was bought by Lloyd Hammond. Gunnar continued to work for Lloyd Hammond until he was over 80. He built his last Hardanger fiddle in 1937.
Later years
On his later fiddles he made some interesting changes: laminations inside the sound holes for increased strength, shorter sound holes, a lower profile and a pattern that was much closer to the style of Guarneri del Gesu. In all his life, although he built around 300 fiddles, he never got more than $150 for one. Today they sell for $7,000 to $15,000.
See also
- The Helland fiddle maker family
- Robert "Bud" Larsen
References
- ↑ "North Dakota Department of Health: Public Death Indax". Retrieved 2012-06-19.