Heritage Memorialized

With varying degrees of distance from the experience of immigration, many mid-to-late 20th century artists and collectors revived traditional forms of artistry and imaginatively memorialized their ethnic roots.Nearby summer-home-turned-cultural-destination Little Norway and the costumed pageantry of the long-running Song of Norway performances evoked pristine peasant Norway, nudging the Mount Horeb area towards a romanticized folk cultural façade. Motivated variously by nostalgia, familial allegiances, and economic savvy, Southwestern Dane County residents invested both artistic talent and money in the revitalization and re-invention of ethnicity.