Background
Pauline Gerhardine Fjelde was born in Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway.
Pauline Gerhardine Fjelde was born in Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway.
She studied gobelin weaving at the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris.
She and her family immigrated to the United States in 1887. Pauline Fjelde is one of a lineage of family artisans. Her brother Jacob Fjelde created many of the sculptures found in Minneapolis parks.
Pauline Fjelde was a highly skilled textile artist.
She was associated with the development of the European Arts and Crafts movement within Norwegian-American textile arts In 1893, the Minnesota State Legislature commissioned the design of an official state flag for display at an exhibit at the fairgrounds in Chicago at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
Amelia Hyde Center submitted the winning design. The Minnesota flag earned a gold medal for embroidery at the Chicago exposition.
Some of her oil paintings also reside at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, District of Columbia The Hennepin History Museum maintains a file containing her career.
Family photos are in the Minnesota Historical Society database.