Nadjeschda Overgaard (born Nadjeschda Lynge) (1905 – 2003) was an American needleworker who received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts for her lifetime of work in 1998. [1]
Life
Born to Danish dairy producers working temporarily in Tara, Siberia, she returned to Denmark when she was five years old and the Russian Revolution broke out. She emigrated to Elk Horn, Iowa with her family when she was 10. She worked as a teacher and married a Dane, Niels Overgaard, in 1933. She had learned embroidery in the traditional styles such as the Hardanger embroidery. She also took on a role as a teacher of traditional Danish culture, including paper cutting, cooking and singing, within the Danish-American community in Elk Horn and Kimballton. [1] Her work has been exhibited in several exhibitions of Iowa folk art, and is included in the collection of the State Historical Society of Iowa and at the Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn. [1] [2] [3]
References
- ^ a b c "Nadjeschda Overgaard: Danish-American Hardanger needleworker". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ^ Moe, John F. (2015). "Danish Communities". In Bronner, Simon J. (ed.). Encyclopedia of American Folklife. Vol. 1. London and New York: Routledge. p. 274. ISBN 9781315704807.
- ^ Congdon, Kristin G.; Hallmark, Kara Kelley (2012). American Folk Art: A Regional Reference. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313349362. OCLC 721891434.
External links
- 1905 births
- 2003 deaths
- Danish emigrants to the United States
- Danish embroiderers
- National Heritage Fellowship winners
- People from Shelby County, Iowa
- American embroiderers
- Artists from Iowa
- 20th-century Danish women artists
- 20th-century Danish artists
- 20th-century American women artists
- Textile artists from Iowa