B.J.O. Nordfeldt: American Internationalist
September 25, 2021 - January 16, 2022
Louise and S. O. Beren Gallery
John W. and Mildred L. Graves Gallery
About This Exhibition
Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt (1878–1955) was a modernist of international reputation. With a spirit that sought new locations for new artistic inspiration, he lived in or near artist colonies in Provincetown in Massachusetts, Santa Fe in New Mexico, and New Hope in Pennsylvania. The first scholarly assessment in decades and retrospective of the artist is organized by the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota.
Nordfeldt was a regular among the Wichita art scene in the 1930s. Banker and painter Ed Davison summered often in Taos, and he befriended many notable artists in the art colonies of Taos and Santa Fe. He brought them to Wichita for visits, exhibition, and sales opportunities as well as his own artistic inquiry. Nordfeldt made many extended visits to the home of Ed and Faye Davison in Wichita. In fact, he was already a friend of Lindsborg artist and fellow Swede, Birger Sandzen. The pair first crossed paths with Chicago’s Swedish-American exhibitions in the early teens.
With this anchor for Nordfeldt in Wichita, it is important to bring his retrospective to Kansas. New audiences will encounter this masterful modernist who was received in our city with warmth and appreciation in the early decades of the 20th century.
B.J.O. Nordfeldt: American Internationalist is organized by the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Wichita presentation has been generously underwritten by presenting sponsor Lattner Family Foundation. The Trust Company of Kansas and DeVore Foundation are lead sponsors. Charles E. Baker and Judy Slawson Family Exhibition Fund provided additional major underwriting. Shaw Family Foundation and Sarah T. Smith are principal sponsors. Generous support has been provided by Ann and Martin Bauer, Berry Foundation, Donna J. Bunk, J. Eric Engstrom and Robert Bell, Rich and Joey Giblin, Carol and H. Guy Glidden, John and Karen Hageman, and Mary Sue Smith. Charles E. Baker and Jim V. Phillips Exhibition Fund, Emily Bonavia, Harold and Evelyn Gregg, Norma Greever, Helen and Ed Healy, Terry and Lou Heldman, Anita Jones and Richard Hite, Delmar and Mary Klocke, Errol and Suzanne Luginbill, Tom and Mindy Page, Debbie and Ron Sinclair, Georgia and Keith Stevens, and Janice and Jeff Van Sickle are additional exhibition patrons.
B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Boy with Hat, 1916. Oil on canvas, 24 × 20 inches. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Bequest of Emily Abbott Nordfeldt
B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Rock Forms, 1949. Oil on canvas, 35 1/8 × 45 3/4 × 7/8 inches. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Bequest of Emily Abbott Nordfeldt
Available in the Museum Store
B.J.O. Nordfeldt: American Internationalist in Wichita by Barbara Thompson
B.J.O. Nordfeldt: American Internationalist by Gabriel P. Weisberg
Both of these Nordfeldt publications are available in the Museum Store. Need them shipped to you? Call the Store at 316-268-4975.
