Benjamin Blessum (November 4, 1877 – October 4, 1954) was an American painter, graphic artist and illustrator. He was primarily known for his Norwegian landscapes.

Background

Ben Blessum was born in Marstein,

Romsdalen Romsdalen is a valley in the western part of Norway. The long valley runs from the Romsdalsfjorden through Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county and into Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county. It is the valley of the Rauma (river), Rau ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was the son of shoemaker Johan Blessum and Marit Trøen from

Vågå Vågå () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward the Romsdalen vall ...

. His family emigrated from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

in 1888 to Menominee, Wisconsin when he was 11 years old. He also lived in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

, where his father worked in the lumber mills. In 1896, he moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he attended the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, worked as a commercial artist and for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' as an illustrator, and was involved in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

Career

In 1905, Blessum was selected to design and illustrate a publication marking the coronation of

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

. In 1913, he was commissioned to design and execute a painting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution. He painted '' The Departure of the Restauration'' now located at the Norwegian Emigrant Museum in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

. In 1916, he lived in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, painting for the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Blessum served as a representative to the American Committee on Public Information in Norway and acted in the same capacity for the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

. Blessum was a member of the

Chicago Norske Klub Chicago Norske Klub (1911 to 1971) was a Chicago, Illinois based Norwegian-American cultural and social organization. Background Chicago Norske Klub was founded in 1911 through the merger of two prior organizations which had dated to 1890, the Nor ...

and

Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art The Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art (stylized as Palette & Chisel) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit association of representational artists, founded in Chicago in 1895 as the Palette and Chisel Club by a group of students from the School of the Art ...

both in Chicago. Blessum exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. Exhibitions of his works were held at the Chicago Norske Klub Annual Art Exhibit and the

Norse-American Centennial The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 6–9, 1925. The centennial commemorated the 100th anniversary of organized Norwegian migration. In 1825, a sloop called the ''R ...

Art Exhibition at the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

. From 1923 to his retirement in 1936, he was the representative for the

Norwegian State Railways Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

in New York. Blessum received the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

, First Class, bestowed by King

in recognition of his many services to the nation. He served as secretary of the Norwegian National League for over 50 years.

Personal life

Blessum settled in Chicago with his wife, Karen Olsen, whom he married in 1900, and their children, Norman and Dagny. He retired in 1936 and built a home outside of Chicago. Blessum died at

Lake Villa, Illinois Lake Villa is a village in Lake County, Illinois United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,741. Lake Villa lies within Lake Villa Township and about 50 miles north of Chicago and is part of the United States Census Bureau's Chica ...

, at the age of 77.

Selected works

*''Smaa diamanter: udvalgte fortællinger'' (1899) *''What You Can See from the Train in Norway'' (1930) *''Vikingland Vacations Norway'' (1930)

References

Other sources

*Erickson, Rolf H. (1988) ''Ben Blessum, Norwegian-American Artist'' (The Sons of Norway Viking, 85, 10: 408-410) *Haugan, Reidar Rye (1933) ''Prominent Artists and Exhibits of Their Work in Chicago'' (Chicago Norske Klub. Nordmanns-Forbundet, 24: 371—374,Volume 7)

External links

Norway - Summer seasonThe Lands of The VikingsSmaa diamanter : udvalgte fortællinger''The Departure of the Restauration''Smithsonian Institution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessum, Benjamin 1877 births 1954 deaths People from Møre og Romsdal 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters Painters from Chicago Norwegian emigrants to the United States School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni People from Eau Claire, Wisconsin Artists from Wisconsin Writers from Chicago Writers from Wisconsin Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal People from Lake Villa, Illinois People from Menomonie, Wisconsin 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists