Today I found an article in Store Norske Leksikon about my great-grandfather, Bernhard Dorotheus Folkestad. He was an artist and writer, born in 1879, whose most famous work is “Mørkeloftet” – a painting of a dark loft where a young boy has found a chello and is stunned by its dark, scary sound.

It was an interesting read, even if it was quite brief. I guess they left some of the juicy stuff out. My parents gave me a master degree paper on his life and work, and when I have the time I’ll have to read the whole thing. I’ve been thinking about writing an article in english about his life and work, and now I have a few sources. I’ll also have to photograph his paintings and put them online. Some of them are really amazing, very new-impressionist. Lots of colour, large swabs, funny themes.

Interiør med skrivende kvinne

There are a couple of his paintings hanging at Nasjonalgalleriet in Oslo. Check them out if you’re in Oslo.

Other links (all in Norwegian):
A short biography (in Norwegian).
Another Norwegian short biography with some paintings.
He also did wall decorations, here is a part of a room he did that is now owned by Orkla AS.