Just ask Diane Carlson...
During a visit to her favorite antique shop, Diane discovered the perfect frame. She bought the piece for $3 and took it home, where she prepared the frame for her own drawing.
Much to her amazement, beneath the layers of dust was a remarkable sight and Diane's decision to leave this work of art intact would, in fact, eventually change her life....
Diane Carlson
makes the cover of the Union Tribune!
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Early map of Norway showing Inga's journey's
during the years 1206-1218
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Birkie basic
LIMITED EDITION
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Framed to match the original chalk drawing.
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NEARLY
3 DECADES AGO,
Carlson, then a 21-year-old bride, bought a picture frame from a shop in southeastern Minnesota. The Josten's commercial artist was living at the time with her husband in Owatonna, Minnesota, a small town about an hour's drive south of Minneapolis. Carlson, who is of Swedish descent, was decorating their new home with a Scandinavian flavor. Among her own artistic endeavors, was a sketch of a mighty Viking ship. A frame was now in order.
Excerpts from the Viking magazine, "A Birkebeiner Tale" by Joel Hoekstra, October 1996
A CAPTIVATING IMAGE
Under the glass was a 17-by-23-inch original chalk drawing depicting two Nordic warriors skiing down a mountain slope with battle axes and spears in hand. Oddly enough, a baby was strapped to the chest of one of the men. The infant, in particular, puzzled Carlson. The babe seemed out of place in this intense, harrowing scene. Were the men escaping and protecting the child? Or had they kidnapped it? "The drawing was too beautiful and intriguing to destroy and I proudly hung it on the wall" Carlson says.
The next year, in 1968, Carlson and her husband moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they opened a photography studio and bridal business. Diane's life was filled with career endeavors and raising a son of her own, but the child in the drawing remained an unforgettable enigma. She often wondered if the artist of the drawing was famous and if, perhaps, the drawing was even valuable.
Then, five years later in 1973, Carlson's neighbors gave her a book entitled, The Skier's Digest. Randomly opening the book, a sentence lept off the page and would be the first clue to unraveling an amazing tale.
This sentence stated that "Skis were used in 1206 to carry the infant Norwegian Prince Haakon across a snow-covered mountain range to save him from rebel factions that were trying to claim the throne in the wake of the king's recent death."
Armed with both a name and a year, Diane fired off letters to the Oslo National Gallery of Art and the American Swedish Institute to confirm that the image she admired on her living room wall was that of this young medieval Prince Haakon. Amazingly, the faint signature on her drawing matched that of the signatures on the oil paintings by the same artist.
Carlson, then a 21-year-old bride, bought a picture frame from a shop in southeastern Minnesota. The Josten's commercial artist was living at the time with her husband in Owatonna, Minnesota, a small town about an hour's drive south of Minneapolis. Carlson, who is of Swedish descent, was decorating their new home with a Scandinavian flavor. Among her own artistic endeavors, was a sketch of a mighty Viking ship. A frame was now in order.
Excerpts from the Viking magazine, "A Birkebeiner Tale" by Joel Hoekstra, October 1996
A CAPTIVATING IMAGE
Under the glass was a 17-by-23-inch original chalk drawing depicting two Nordic warriors skiing down a mountain slope with battle axes and spears in hand. Oddly enough, a baby was strapped to the chest of one of the men. The infant, in particular, puzzled Carlson. The babe seemed out of place in this intense, harrowing scene. Were the men escaping and protecting the child? Or had they kidnapped it? "The drawing was too beautiful and intriguing to destroy and I proudly hung it on the wall" Carlson says.
The next year, in 1968, Carlson and her husband moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they opened a photography studio and bridal business. Diane's life was filled with career endeavors and raising a son of her own, but the child in the drawing remained an unforgettable enigma. She often wondered if the artist of the drawing was famous and if, perhaps, the drawing was even valuable.
Then, five years later in 1973, Carlson's neighbors gave her a book entitled, The Skier's Digest. Randomly opening the book, a sentence lept off the page and would be the first clue to unraveling an amazing tale.
This sentence stated that "Skis were used in 1206 to carry the infant Norwegian Prince Haakon across a snow-covered mountain range to save him from rebel factions that were trying to claim the throne in the wake of the king's recent death."
Armed with both a name and a year, Diane fired off letters to the Oslo National Gallery of Art and the American Swedish Institute to confirm that the image she admired on her living room wall was that of this young medieval Prince Haakon. Amazingly, the faint signature on her drawing matched that of the signatures on the oil paintings by the same artist.
His
name was Knud Larsen Bergslien and he lived and worked in Norway
in the 1800's. Diane was referred to Lillehammer, Norway for additional
information about the drawing's historical and contemporary significance.
Carlson
learned that the scene in the original Bergslien chalk drawing
depicted a famous legend from Norway's post-Viking history.
To make the find even more valuable, Diane was told that annual
cross-country ski races, called Birkebeiner-rennets, are held
in five countries to commemorate this great escape. She was
told that the skiers are even required to carry backpacks that
weigh approximately that of the little prince.
UNCOVERING A LEGEND...
"I had in my possession this priceless piece of history," Carlson recalls. "What should I do?"
The details of the story thrilled Carlson as she pieced them together. But it wasn't until 1992 that it became clear to her that the image and story were of real significance. While watching the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in France, she couldn't believe her eyes and ears...
The Olympic celebration
was now re-enacting the 13th century legend of the Nordic warriors and Prince Haakon. The commentator recounted the story that Carlson had already uncovered and announced that this would be the theme of the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
After a flurry of letters and phone calls to Olympic organizers, both in the U.S. and in Norway, Carlson was asked if the Bergslien work of art could be included in the "100 Years of Glory" traveling exhibit. Honored by this request, in the summer of 1993, Carlson shipped the Birkebeineres to Atlanta, GA. The Olympic Committee insured the work of art for $100,000.
By now, Carlson had moved to Southern California and had immersed herself in the writing of a book and an opera based on the drawing's history. She had also been approached by a producer (who was an elite Birkebeinere ski race participant) about the possibilities of producing a documentary. He suggested that Diane attend the Birkebeinere race in Lillehammer.
In March, 1996, Diane packed up her list of questions and tape recorder and headed to Norway. Much to Diane's surprise and delight, a whole new, unexpected pathway unfolded. She learned about Inga from Varteig™, the mother of the young prince. She learned that Inga raised her son alone because the cruel enemy had killed the father of her child - the child that was destined to become one of Norway's greatest kings - the child who would change the course of Northern European history.
The true story was extraordinary and was already being celebrated in Lillehammer. It is a women's cross-country ski race called the Inga-låmi®, which means "the pathway of Inga™"-a forgotton queen.
With this exciting inspiration and encouragement from the Norwegians, Diane formed an American organization which celebrates Inga' s historic pathway with cross-country skiing events, publications and artforms.
Inga-låmi®International is just in its early stages of development but Carlson has hopes and dreams of developing scholarship programs for single parents, athlete exchange programs with Norway, and more.
See FAQ for more information
STORY TAKES A DRAMATIC TURN
June 17, 1996, Carlson's story took its own dramatic turn. No one could have predicted what was about to happen.....
