How does this artwork elucidate its The later controversy and eventual acceptance?
During 1983–1984, the painting was exhibited at the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, and after this exhibit an art dealer offered to donate or sell the painting to Nationalmuseum. The board rejected the offer with the statement that the Old Norse motif was more appropriate for the Swedish History Museum, which at the time still shared the same building as Nationalmuseum. When the Swedish History Museum had been moved to a building of its own, the painting should be moved there too.After this rejection, the painting was sold to art collector Carl-Eric Björkegren, who offered to sell it to the Swedish History Museum for 12 million Swedish kronor. This offer caused a controversy in which people debated if the painting belonged to Nationalmuseum or the Swedish History Museum. In this debate where there were exaggerations in both directions, people claimed that the painting was both an unsurpassed masterpiece of Swedish art and a work of suspect morality. In 1987, it was sold by Sotheby's in London to a Japanese art collector.In 1992, Nationalmuseum celebrated its bicentennial anniversary and dedicated the exhibit to Carl Larsson. The Japanese owner lent the painting to the museum, and when the 300,000 visitors of the late 20th century were able to see the work for the first time in the hall where it was intended to be, the general opinion changed.In 1997, Nationalmuseum bought the painting from the collector, ordered a frame for stretching the canvas from Per Målare, a carpenter in Gagnef, Dalarna, and installed it permanently where Carl Larsson had intended it to be.
Carl Larsson Stockholm Nationalmuseum Gagnef Dalarna Sotheby's London Carl-Eric Björkegren Swedish History Museum