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Ben Blessum was born in Romsdal, Norway in 1877. He emigrated to the United States in 1888. He settled and worked in the Chicago area. Blessum had no formal schooling beyond sixth grade, except for a few months of evening school at the Chicago Art Institute.

Blessum’s first visit back to Norway was in 1903. While he was there, he collected information and sketched scenes for later use. He was especially taken with Setesdal, seeing the area as a place where buildings and styles had not changed much since the time of the Vikings. Blessum died in 1954.