Orabel Thortvedt - Local Artist and Historian

Orabel with painting tools.

Orabel Thortvedt was a local historian, animal lover and trained artist from the Glyndon area. Born into one of the earliest families to settle in Clay County, she was raised hearing stories of their travels and trials moving from Norway to Clay County. This storytelling instilled in her a life-long passion for her family’s history and that of her neighbors. She showed artistic talent at an early age. Orabel studied at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the University of Minnesota and developed a long and successful career painting animal portraits and historical scenes.
 
Her introduction to art began when at age six she drew a caricature of her teacher in a snow bank with a stick. Though her teacher was unimpressed, her parents recognized her talent and encouraged her. Orabel had a love for animals and a special talent for capturing the personality of a dog or horse in her art.
 
She was a good writer. In the early 1920s Orabel began a series of scrapbooks documenting her experiences and the lives of her family members and neighbors. Her parents’ stories inspired her to create an illustrated manuscript depicting her family’s travels and travails in Norway and the US. It occupied her for over 50 years.
 
Orabel moved to Minneapolis to study art in 1930.  After both her parents died in 1936, Orabel continued to work in the Twin Cities for a time but returned to the farm permanently in 1938. Blessed with supportive and perhaps indulgent family, Orabel was allowed to just be Orabel. She continued her artistic career, painting animal portraits and historical local scenes for neighbors and friends. Orabel died from heart disease November 1, 1983. She’s buried with her parents in Concordia Lutheran Cemetery. 

​From Prairie Daughters: The Art and Lives of Annie Stein and Orabel Thortvedt

Orabel's historical notes are housed at the Clay County Archives. Her notes have proven a vital resource in the work of the HCSCC. They are currently being scanned and transcribed so that they can be more accessible and preserved for future generations.

To learn more about Orabel and Annie Stein, another local artist, copies of Prairie Daughters: The Art and Lives of Annie Stein and Orabel Thortvedt available at the Heritage Gift Shop or our online store. 

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Notes written by Orabel on Edward Grover.

Orabel (left) and another student working on drawing a horse. Animals were a common motif in Orabel's art and she kept extensive notes on the horses, cats, and cows her family raised.