[From the Community Collection, a public trust in Agincourt, Iowa]

OYEN, Odin J. (1865–1926)

Study for Courthouse Mural

watercolor on paper / 27.5 inches by 36.5 inches

ca1900

About 1900, the LaCrosse, Wisconsin interior designer and painter Odin J. Oyen submitted sketches to decorate the Fennimore County courthouse. Oyen’s scheme was decidedly “Classical” in spirit and contrasted with the earlier Richardsonian Romanesque character of the 1888-1889 building. It is remarkable how twelve years can can shift architectural style so dramatically. The murals were lost in the fire of 1966, so this is the only substantial artifact of that project.

Norwegian-born and educated at the Art Institute of Chicago, Oyen was renowned throughout the Upper Midwest for the interior decor produced by his firm, with examples in Wisconsin, Minnesota, both Dakotas, and Iowa. the Odin Oyen Collection is housed at the University of Wisconsin—LaCrosse.