There was an amazing official announcement in December from the Stavanger Kunstmuseum. Frida Hansen’s monumental tapestry, Sørover [Southward], was purchased by the Christen Sveaas’ Kunststiftelse (Christen Sveeas’ Art Foundation). According to a Facebook post from the Stavanger Kunstmuseum, the tapestry will be on display at the museum for five years, with a possibility for further cooperation in the future. What a wonderful development. There’s no better spot for the tapestry than among the rich collection of Frida Hansen’s works at that museum. 

From the museum statement: It is with great pleasure that the director at Stavanger Art Museum, Hanne Beate Ueland, can now announce that “Sørover” will remain in Stavanger. We are very, very happy with this solution, she says.

The process of the tapestry’s return was celebrated in the local newspaper, though not quite correctly. It was reddet [saved] for Norwegian viewers, rather than being acquired by an American museum or private collector, but it most certainly was not found in a søppelkasse [garbage can]. 

The story of Southward’s provenance in the United States is amazing, and still includes some mystery. The Norwegian-American weaver Berthea Aske Bergh purchased the tapestry in 1903 and brought it to New York. It was displayed more than twenty times at museums, galleries, and in private shows around the United States. It disappeared from public view, and any newspaper references, around the mid-1930s. We learned that Bergh kept the tapestry until her death, when she bequeathed it to her son, Norman, who died in 1958. When Norman’s wife Elizabeth died in 1961, Southward was sold at her estate auction. 

We don’t know who bought Southward in 1961, but we do know about the next owner, David McInnis. McInnis was an antique dealer who obtained Southward perhaps around 2000-2010. He had an eye for special objects. To him, his carefully stored inventory felt like money in the bank, assets he viewed as his retirement income. Unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly in 2020. His widow Helen said that they displayed his very best antiques in their home, but that Southward was too large for their house. But David McInnis knew he had a treasure in storage. 

After McInnis died, Peter Pap was hired to handle his estate, including the bulk of his inventory. By the time Peter Pap opened the carefully-stored tapestry in David McInnis’ store room, he was in luck. After a quick Google search, he knew exactly what he was viewing when he read an article on the missing tapestry. He was thrilled with the discovery of the very important Art Nouveau tapestry of great beauty, in excellent condition. 

Peter Pap worked with the curators of Scandinavian Design in America: 1890 to 1980 to have the tapestry included in the exhibits at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and at the Milwaukee Museum of Art. He displayed it at the prestigious Winter Show in New York. It also hung in his Dublin, New Hampshire, gallery. He worked with the Stavanger Kunstmuseum to have it displayed in the summer, 2025, show, Fra Røttene: Kitty Kielland and Frida Hansen. (That show broke attendance records!)

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans have learned about Frida Hansen since Peter Pap’s rediscovery of Southward. I think Frida Hansen would be very pleased about the return of her tapestry to the museum in her home town of Stavanger.

Read more: This article, “Frida Hansen’s Sørover,” includes links to many articles on Frida Hansen and Southward.