Lars Thorsen: Vintage Norway Travel Poster, 1940s (37.5” x 27.5”)

Lars Thorsen (1876-1952) was a Norwegian artist known for his maritime paintings. He was a former mess boy, sail maker, rigger on boats, doing five trips around Cape Horn, crewing on an America’s Cup Yacht, and sailing fishing boats. He taught himself to paint while at sea. At the age of 28, he immigrated to the coast of Connecticut, USA . In the late 1930s, he began working with the WPA Federal Arts Project. This project was presumably commissioned by the Norwegian tourism authority at a later date.
 
In this piece, he depicted a picturesque scene of boats in a harbor, a village by the water, and snow-capped mountains in the background under a bright sun. According to our online research, this poster dates back to the 1940s.
 
It is possible however that this is a reproduction purchased in the 1970s or early 1980s when our family visited Norway…
 
All four corners of the poster have remnants of tape and pin holes. In the upper left corner, the poster has ripped. There are also minor creases and other damage along the edges. See photos.
 
We have priced this with the acknowledgement that this artwork is now available online to be printed on demand as it is out of copyright, however, most print on demand services do not offer it in as large a size as this original. Prices for close to this size are $80+.
 
H 37 1/2” x 25 1/2”
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.