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Chair

A carved wooden chair with a rounded back and arms elaborately painted in teal green and accents of red, blue, and yellow. Its carvings are symmetrical and depict flourishes and numerous figures, including a pair of kings, a pair of trolls, and roaming animals.

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  • A carved wooden chair with a rounded back and arms elaborately painted in teal green and accents of red, blue, and yellow. Its carvings are symmetrical and depict flourishes and numerous figures, including a pair of kings, a pair of trolls, and roaming animals.

Date:

1908

Artist:

Lars Kinsarvik
Norwegian, 1846-1925

About this artwork

Signed and dated just three years after Norway gained independence from Sweden, this chair is an emblem of Norwegian cultural pride. It recalls medieval carvings and Norse mythology, with dragons, kings, trolls, and wolves set among interlacing scrolls and tendrils. Lars Kinsarvik promoted this Norwegian nationalist style, called Viking Revival, at his woodcarving school on the Sunnmøre fjord, where he trained an entire generation of young carvers. Kinsarvik’s carvings helped establish Norway on the international scene: they were prominently displayed at world’s fairs and at hotels serving the nation’s burgeoning tourism industry.

Status

On View, Gallery 246

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Lars Kinsarvik

Title

Chair

Place

Norway (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1908

Medium

Pine and pigment

Dimensions

108 × 70 × 62 cm (42 9/16 × 27 9/16 × 24 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Applied Arts of Europe General Endowment Fund; purchased with funds provided by Mrs. John T. Golitz

Reference Number

2023.2900

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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