RØNNAUG PETTERSEN'S DOLLS

The exhibit consists of twenty-six dolls created by the Norwegian artist Rønnaug Pettersen. Mrs. Pettersen was born in Northern Norway and in her youth studied art in Germany and Spain. Before returning to Norway in 1934, she began using dolls as her primary artistic medium, and she subsequently opened a studio in Oslo.

The exhibit was first created by the Norwegian Information Service as a “cultural promotion” for Norway. It comprises a wide selection of the finest dolls that Rønnaug Pettersen created between 1935 and 1975. It was first opened in New York City in April 1976 by Liv Ullmann.

For many years the exhibit was used across the United States as an advertisement for Norway, Norwegian culture and indeed, to promote travel to Norway. Then, after some years in storage at the Norwegian Consulate General in New York, it was donated to The Norwegian Emigrant Museum by the Norwegian Foreign Office in 2004. Here the exhibit has found a permanent home.