Frida Hansen
Frida Hansen (1855 to 1931) was a Norwegian textile artist from Stavanger. Her tapestries and furnishing textiles show how weaving could develop through international Art Nouveau and Symbolism while drawing on older Norwegian craft traditions.
She received drawing lessons from Kitty Kielland and Johan Bennetter. After learning upright-loom weaving, textiles became her principal medium. She moved to Kristiania in 1892. Her collaboration with Den norske Husflidsforening ended in a dispute over pattern rights.
The workshop Norsk Aaklæde- og Billedtæppe-Væveri (NABV) was established in 1897, renamed Det norske Billedvæveri in 1899 and operated until 1906. The Riksteppene tapestries were produced there from Gerhard Munthe’s designs, not woven by Hansen herself. Not all its textiles were designed or woven by Hansen.
Plant forms, female figures and literary subjects appear in a stylised, ornamental visual language. She treated textiles as an independent artistic medium. International recognition, including a gold medal in Paris in 1900, demonstrates the reach of her work beyond Norwegian domestic crafts.
Hansen patented her transparent weaving technique in 1897. Open areas expose the warp while weft covers other sections. Light becomes part of the effect. Workshop weavers could execute transparencies from her designs and under her guidance; design and physical execution must be distinguished.
Melkeveien of 1898 belongs to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg. It measures 260 × 345 cm, with cotton warp and wool weft. Figures unfurl a veil of stars across the sky. The museum records woven marks reading “FRIDA HANSEN” and “N. A. B. V. 1898”. These document this particular tapestry.
Jeftas datter of 1913 in Norway’s National Museum is instead a tapestry in gobelin technique, with cotton warp and coloured wool weft. It measures 203 × 180 cm. Its material description should not automatically be applied to other works.
Sommernattsdrøm of 1914 is catalogued as a portière in transparent weaving, with wool warp and weft of wool and some metal thread. The difference from a densely woven tapestry matters when describing its construction as well as its subject.
Design and weaving dates can differ. For Røde roser, the National Museum lists a pattern of 1899 and weaving of 1900, with Det norske Billedvæveri as manufacturer. Kveder is dated 1902 for design and 1903 for weaving, using hemp and wool; the manufacturer attribution is catalogued as presumed certain.
The workshop’s star, the initials NABV or DNB and dates can provide relevant clues. They must be read alongside subject, technique, dimensions and documented ownership history. A familiar pattern or woven name alone does not establish who wove a particular example or when it was made.
For assessment, photograph the front, reverse, edges, hanging arrangement and any labels before intervention. Fading, repairs and altered hanging arrangements can affect appearance and documentation. A printed reproduction of a tapestry must be described as a reproduction, with its own material and production history.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history, Gerhard Munthe.
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