Kjære frù Höst!

Hùndrede gange har jeg tænkt paa

at skrive til Dem i vaar og i som-

mer, – og jeg kan ikke gjöre ùndskyld-

ning nok. – Jeg har været daarlig nu

næsten ½ aar, – lige siden jeg havde

"den spanske"; – jeg har været rent "vrak"

baade sjæleligt og legemligt – stadig feber

og svedning – uden aarsak; – og hùkom-

melsen slaar stadig klik; – jeg begynder 

kanske paa et arbeide og ender med 

at have 3-4 paa en gang, förend jeg 

hùsker, at jeg var begyndt paa det förste,

og imidlertid har natùr og indtryk for-

andret sig, saa det er ùmuligt at fortsætte

paa det förste, og saa gaar det gjerne lige-

II

dan baade med det andet tredje og fjerde,

– det blir bare "somleri"; og saa kommer

dertil en voldsom nervösitet og stadig

forkjölelse paa grùnd af svedingen, – naar

saa dertil kommer mine gamle onder, saa

er det ikke saa lett at være oplagt til

at gjöre kunst eller skrive ordentlige

brever. Dog bùrde jeg selvfölgelig længst 

skrevet og kviteret for de 200 Kr. fra

Aslaksen – og jeg maa bede Dem meget 

om ùndskyldning derfor – (hils ham hjær-

teligst fra mig, om De kjender ham og træf-

fer ham).

Jeg har tænkt saa ofte paa Dem og Deres

datter Inger, – bring hende min hjærtelig-

ste gratulation! – kommer hùn til landet 

igjen, vilde jeg meget gjerne faa lov at give

hende og hendes mand et billede, hvis de

III

bröd sig om det. – Vi tænkte paa 

Dem hver dag, da hæggen blomstret og

ùndrede paa, om De mùligens kom hid en 

tùr, – her er jo saa meget omkring i bygden,

som vi kùnde have lyst at vise Dem, –

særlig om vaaren, – den er vakker her,

men bare saa altfor kortvarig, – men

her er ogsaa vakkert nù udover – særlig

op i dalerne; – vi har et lidet fiske-

vand – Inger var deroppe, – der har vi

bygget en hytte i nærheden, og hele fa-

milien var der nù sidste söndag – lille-

gutten bar jeg i rypesækken og "svettet

som en tyrk", da gutten er usedvanlig

tùng for sin alder – han blir en ren "kjæm-

pe" – siger alle, som ser ham, – Turid var

ikke saa tùng, da hùn var 2 aar gammel,

men saa var hùn ogsaa saa liden, som 

faa andre barn – og Eirik er större end de fleste.

IIII

Engel og jeg reiser ofte op til denne hytten

vor, naar vi blir altfor plaget af "toùrister",

her er nemlig i de senere aar saa mange

maler-amatörer og malerinder – jobbere og

andre nysgjerrige mennesker, som finder

veien frem til dette – som jeg troede – meget

afsidesliggende sted; og jeg selv og min lille

gaard er bleven ligesom "menageri" eller

mùseùmsgjenstande- en af "bygdens seværdig-

heder", – som bygdens eneste hotel synes

at have faaet raadighet over – at vise frem

til sine gjester; – her har i lange tider ikke 

gaaet en dag ùden slige besög; – heldigvis

sidder vi saa höit, at vi ser dem i tide,

og jeg lùsker ind i skogen og gjemmer mig,

medens Engel trakterer med kaffe og kaker

til toùristerne blir lei af opholdet.

Vi har forresten ogsaa havt mange hygge-

lige gjæster i sommer – saaledes næsten alle

mine söskende. – Prytz venter vi hver dag, og

V

jeg og hele familien glæder os til at træffe

ham.

Mons Breidvik skrev til mig om, at 

han havde laant et træsnit af Dem,

og samtidig fik jeg Deres venlige brev, hvori

De tilböd Dem at faa Höst til at ned-

skrive sagnet efter notater fra mig; men

straks efter fik jeg atter brev fra Breivik, at 

det hastede saa sterkt, at jeg maatte sende

mine notater direkte og samtidig sende

en sortere ^("svartere") tryk af "Jölster sagn", – ligesom

ogsaa "Bukken" maatte trykkes saa sort som 

mùligt, (antagelig fordi, de da var billigere

at ætse) – jeg maatte da i hast lave det

saa godt som mùligt, – men det blev vist 

ikke rare sakerne.

Jeg tænker nù ikke paa stort andet om 

dagene end stipendiereisen – og tager nye 

bestemmelser næsten hver dag, – jeg kan 

VI

vel nærmest takke Dem og frù Mohr for,

at jeg fik stipendiet igjen i aar ogsaa – jeg

skrev – (efter Deres raad) – til Mohr og forespùrgte,

om jeg ikke kunde faa et större belöb udbe-

talt ad gangen – iallefald for förste termin,

– da de 1000 kr. vilde medgaa til reisepenge

i denne dyrtid, og saa maatte jeg leve et

fjerdingaar i ùdlandet förend jeg fik næste

termin, – hertil svarede Mohr, at han havde 

overgivet alt med hensyn til terminer o.s.v. til

departementet, – men han vilde gjerne faa 

lov at give mig 2000 kr. at starte med,

og hvis jeg ikke vilde modtage nogen gave,

vilde han gjerne faa kjöbe et billede til 2000.

Jeg svarede, at jeg gjerne skulde sælge ham

et billede for 2000, hvis jeg bare havde noget,

som havde været godt – og jeg nævnte da, at jeg

havde et större arbeide, som jeg har arbeidet

med i flere aar (nogen gave syntes jeg ikke jeg

kunde modtage) – Nù angrer jeg næsten, at jeg

VII

nævnte dette billede; thi jeg er bange for at

Mohr og frùe sætter for store forventninger til

det, – jeg betvivler nemlig, at jeg faar det

rigtig godt, – jeg har "skrabet det ud" flere

gange og begyndt paa det igjen, og jeg mangler

saa stort atteliere, som jeg kunde trænge til

et saa stort billede – jeg kan kanske mind-

ske det noget, – men jeg er for tiden saa

ùrolig og usikker paa min kùnst, – jeg har

"kjört mig fast" – og ^saa det er vanskeligt at

arbeide med et ældre motiv, og mine

nye ting skraber jeg stadig ùd igjen. Krantz

var her en tùr i vaar, og han var meget

begeistret over mine expressionistiske

exprimenter, – men han er ikke at lide

paa, – hvad han roser idag, laster han

i morgen og omvendt, – ifjor udtalte

han sig slig om enkelte af mine ting, at

jeg senere i ærgrelse "skrabte dem ùd" – og 

nù er det ikke fritt, jeg angrer paa et af

billederne; – man skal selvfölgelig ikke 

 

Tekst i høyre marg: (fortsat bag på förste ark)

VIII

höre efter nogen, – der er saa meget oppe 

i tidens kùnst nù, at ingen er sikre.

I træsnittene er jeg nù kommen efter, at

jeg igrùnden har arbeidet i en forkjert

retning, – jeg er naaet omtrent til samme

standpunkt med dem, som tidligere med

maleriet; – jeg har "kjört mig fast", – særlig

i et par store, som jeg har arbeidet med

i aar – – (jeg har ogsaa forsögt paa et 

portræt av Höst i træsnit, – portrætter

kan jo ikke gjöres i træsnit, og det blev da

ogsaa derefter). Jeg har mange ud-

kast til træsnit liggende; men jeg 

kommer enten aldrig til at udföre

dem, eller iallefald kommer jeg til at

forsöge at udföre dem paa en helt 

anden maade end hidtil; – jeg maa 

ud fra vestlandet nù og forsöge anden

VIIII

natùr eller iallefald andre indtryk – 

vestlandet er farligt i længden.

Jeg tænkte ivaar paa at reise til Paris

og skrev til Jean Heiberg, som jeg havde

hört skulde did, – jeg vilde gjerne faa 

fölge og leie atteliere et steds i nærheden

af ham, saa jeg kùnde faa korrectur af

ham; ––– der gik et par maaneder,

förend jeg fik svar fra ham, – det havde

jo intet at sige, – men det syntes mig 

ùnderligt, at han skrev til mig just

den dag, han reiste; – han tùrde ikke

paatage sig at korrigere mig, – og opgav 

heller ikke sin adresse i Paris, som jeg bad

ham om; – formodentlig har der været

"onde tùnger" ude om mig der ogsaa, som 

omtrent alle steder, – jeg skrev senere til 

frk. Kamstrup og bad hende faa hans 

adresse, – men jeg har heller intet hört

X

fra hende derom; – jeg tænker nù paa at

reise til Tyskland, hvis der er saa ordnede 

forhold, at man kan opholde sig der no-

genlùnde trygt; – jeg har lyst at stùdere

abstraktionernes malere lidt nærmere –

Kandinsky og de andre rùssere; – de

interesserer mig igrùnden mere, end de

franske – Picasso og Mattisse, – dog skùlde 

jeg have stor lyst til at faa en fransk

maler som Le Faùcònniere til lærer, –

jeg har hört at han skal holde maler-

skole i den senere tid; – jeg synes han er

den interessenteste af alle de moderne

franske malere, – han er noget mere

end kubist og expréssionist; – men da

jeg saa godt som intet fransk kan, saa

vil jeg antagelig have mere ubytte af at

stùdere under en af de tysk-russiske male-

re i München af samme retning.

Kanske bùrde jeg slett ikke stùdere ùnder

XI

nogen anden maler, – men bare söke et

roligt sted i syden, hvor klimaet var godt,

og hvor jeg uten nervösitet og ùnder bedre

forholde kùnde forsöge at udforme, hvad

jeg forgjæves har strævet med i flere aar,

men det er vanskeligt at finde et saadant

sted, – Spanien skulde da kanske være bedst,

da der har været nöitralitet under krigen,

og der ^er jo megen kùnst at se; men jeg

maatte da næsten have en bok eller anden 

beskrivelse af Spanien, saa jeg kunde "udse"

sted, som passede for mig; – jeg turde vel

ikke bede Dem spörge Höst, om han kunde

anbefale mig nogen bok eller noget skrift

over Spanien enten paa tysk eller norsk.

Forresten skal der have været dyrtid og jobbe-

tid i Spanien som i alle neytrale land,

og der er vel dyrt at bo, – forresten kan det 

vel ikke være stort værre end her. –

Ja De maa undskylde at jeg plager Dem

med alt dette reisesnak; – jeg har tænkt

XII

saa længe paa dette med reisen – tænkt paa

mindst hùndrede steder; – naar man skal

ud – faar man lyst til at favne hele kloden

först, – for saa at finde det man liker bedst

og slaa sig ned der, – og jeg siger stadig

til mig selv: "Tænk om det havde været

for 10 aar siden!" – Havde jeg enda

kjendt nogen skibsredere, hvis skibe

jeg kùnde faaet fùlgt for en rimelig pris

(eller for nogen billeder); – thi reisepen-

gene slùker jo nù næsten alt (nù med 

de dyre fragter). Frem og tilbage til Spa-

nien vil der medgaa ca. 2200 kr. naar 

man (som man nù er nödt) skal reise

over Rotterdam – Amsterdam; – (og an-

tagelig endnù mere over England).

At tage hele familien med blir vel

ogsaa for dyrt, – endskjönt det igrùnden

kanske blir lige dyrt at före to hùsholdnin-

ger; – jeg har intet magtet selv at gjöre

paa gaarden iaar, har derfor lidet at lade

XIII

familien leve af hjemme, – og jeg har

ikke raad at leie folk til alt gaardsar-

beidet, – man forlanger her 7-10 kr.

pr. dag samt kosten, – og selv med slige

priser kan man vanskelig opdrive folk.

Engel er også som rimelig kan være

ræd for at være alene paa gaarden 

med alle börnene – selv om hùn kùnde op-

drive en jentùnge til hjælp – her er nemlig 

over hele vestlandet en slig mangel paa 

tjenestejenter iaar at selv de gjærrigste bön-

der byr 1000-1200 for en tjenestepike, – de

fleste er reist til byerne, – og de faa, som er

igjen, er enten gaardmandsdötre, som maa være 

hjemme paa farsgaardene, – eller det er nogen 

gamle "atteglöimer" som forlanger det mest

ùrimelige i retning af at fore saùer for dem.

Jeg har holdt mig mest hjemme iaar, – og kùn 

været eneste ordentlig fjeldtur, – men den var

ogsaa storartet, – et par dages vildmans-liv

i fjeldene er dog det herligste som findes – en

ven af mig (som har boet i mine hùse paa Mykle-

XIIII

bùst nù i halvandet aar) var med paa turen – 

ligesaa hans kone og söster; – de var bymennesk-

nesker og havde aldrig kunnet ahne, at der

kunde være slig storartet natur midt i "vilde" 

fjeldet, – men tilslut kom vi bort i en 

ganske stor öde fjeldbygd eller "botten", – hvor

der var en ren örken af sne og sten omkring 

"Isvandet", og da tror jeg de andre havde nok 

af "vildheden"; – der fandtes ikke en kvist at 

koge kaffen med; – men ved hjælp af en mas-

se gamle törre bregner og en improviseret

stenovn fik vi dog kogt vor kaffe tilslùt.

Da vi gik forbi det saakaldte "Fagrivatten", (et öde

fjeldvand) tænkte jeg paa Dem, at dette bùrde De have

seet, – jeg havde seet det för – og beùndret det, – men

dennegang var det som en aabenbaring, – der var

tilfældigvis en slig mystisk belysning, – saa even-

tyrlig og overnatùrlig, – slöret og kraftig i farven

paa samme tid, at jeg aldrig har seet maken.

Nei nù maa De ùndskylde, at jeg har plaget

Dem med saa meget "vaas". – Haaber De og Deres

lever vel! – Ser vi Dem iaar her? De er altid

velkommen – hvad tid det blir – Hils Höst og

Deres börn og vær selv hjærteligst hilset fra os alle

her. Engel beder om en hilsen til Inger. Deres Astrup

Dear Mrs. Höst!

A hundred times I have thought 

of writing to You this spring and this sum-

mer, – and I cannot apologize 

enough. – I have not been well 

for almost half a year now, – ever since I had

"the Spanish flu", – I have been an absolute "wreck"

both spiritually and physically – constant fever

and sweating – with no apparent cause; – and my me-

mory constantly fails me; – I start

working on one piece and end up

having 3-4 simultaneously, before I

remember, that I had started on the first one,

and in the meantime the landscape and impressions have

changed, so it is impossible to continue

on the first one, and then the same thing

II

occurs with the second third and fourth ones, – 

it’s just "fiddling" away time; and added 

to that is intense anxiety and a constant

cold due to the sweating, – and

in addition to that are my old ailments, so

it isn’t so easy to have the energy to

make art or write proper 

letters. Nevertheless I should have of course long since

written and acknowledged the 200 Kr. from

Aslaksen – and I must apologise profusely 

to You for that – (convey my warm-

est greetings to him, if You know him and 

meet him).

I have thought so often about You and Your

daughter Inger, – convey to her my warm-

est congratulations! – if she returns to the 

country, I would very much like to give

her and her husband a picture, if they

III

cared to have one. – We thought about 

You every day, when the bird cherry bloomed and

wondered, if You might make a trip 

here, – there is so much around the village here,

that we would like to show You, –

especially in the spring, – it is beautiful here,

although so very short-lived, – but

it is also beautiful here now – especially

up in the valleys; – we have a little fishing

lake – Inger was up there, – where we have

built a cabin nearby, and the whole fa-

mily was there this past Sunday – the little

boy I carried in my rucksack and "sweated

like a Turk", as the boy is exceptionally

heavy for his age – he will be a proper "gi-

ant" – everyone, who meets him say, – Turid was

not as heavy, when she was 2 years old,

but then she was exceptionally small, like

few other children – and Eirik is bigger than most.

IIII

Engel and I often go up to that cabin

of ours, when we are greatly bothered by "tourists",

in recent years there are so many

amateur painters and female painters – workers and

other curious people, who find 

their way to this – as I thought – very

secluded place; and I myself and my little

farm have become a "menagerie" or a

museum piece- one of the "village land-

marks", – which the only hotel in the village feels

it has the authorization – to show off

to its guests; – for long periods of time not 

a day has passed without such visits; fortunately

we are situated so high up, that we see them in time,

and I sneak into the woods and hide,

while Engel treats them with coffee and cakes

until the tourists become bored with the visit.

We have incidentally also had many enjoy-

able guests this summer – such as almost all

my siblings. – Prytz we are expecting any day now, and

V

I and the whole family are looking forward to seeing

him.

Mons Breidvik wrote to me, that 

he had borrowed a woodcut from You,

and at the same time I received Your kind letter, in which

You offered to have Höst write

down the legend based on notes from me; but

immediately after I received a letter from Breivik saying that 

it was so urgent, that I must send

my notes straightaway and at the same time send

a blacker ^("darker") print of "A Tale from Jölster", – just as

"The Billy Goat" must also be printed as black as 

possible (presumably because, they would then be cheaper

to make an etching of) – I thus had to rush to make it

as good as possible, – but it didn’t turn

out so terribly well.

These days I do not think of anything 

but the grant study tour – and make 

new decisions almost daily, – I can

VI

thank You and Mrs. Mohr for

the fact that I received the grant again this year – I

wrote – (upon Your advice) – to Mohr and inquired,

whether I might have a large sum paid

out each time – at least for the first semester,

– since the 1000 kr. would go towards the travel expenses

during these times of inflation, and then I would have to spend

three months living abroad before I received the next

semester [payment], – to this Mohr responded, that he had 

handed over everything related to semesters etc. to 

the ministry, – but he would happily be 

permitted to give me 2000 kr. to begin with,

and if I was not willing to accept a gift,

he would gladly purchase a picture for 2000.

I responded, that I would have liked to sell him

a picture for 2000, if only I had something,

that was good – and I mentioned then, that I

had a large piece, that I had worked

on for several years (I didn’t think I could 

accept a gift) – Now I almost regret, that I

VII

mentioned this picture, because I fear that

Mohr and his wife have excessive expectations towards

it, – that is to say I doubt that I can achieve a very

good result, – I have "scraped it clean" several 

times and begun anew, and I lack

a large enough studio, that I could use for

such a large picture – I can perhaps make it

a little smaller, – but at the moment I am so

uneasy and unsure of my art, – I have

"gotten stuck" – and ^so it is difficult to

work with an older motif, and my

new things I am constantly scraping clean. Krantz

was here this spring, and he was very

excited about my expressionistic

experiments, – but he cannot be 

trusted, – what he praises today, he reproaches

tomorrow and vice versa, – last year 

he expressed himself in such a way about some of my things, that

I later in frustration "scraped them clean" – and  

now it is not improbable, that I regret one of

the pictures; – one should not of course 

Text in right margin: (continued on reverse of first page)

VIII

listen to anyone, – so much is happening 

in today’s art, that no one is certain.

In the woodcuts I have now realised,

I have in fact been working in the wrong

direction, – I have arrived at approximately the same

position with them, as earlier with

painting; – I have "gotten stuck", – especially

in a couple of large ones, which I have worked on

this year – – (I have also attempted a 

portrait of Höst in woodcut, – portraits

cannot be done in woodcut, and that was the case

here too). I have many drafts

for woodcuts lying about; but I 

will either never execute

them, or at least I will eventually

attempt to execute them in a totally 

different way than I have until now; – I must 

get away from West Norway now and experience other

VIIII

landscapes or at least other impressions – 

West Norway is dangerous in the long run.

This spring I thought of travelling to Paris

and wrote to Jean Heiberg, who I had

heard was going there, – I would love to 

accompany him and rent a studio near

him, so that I might be critiqued by

him; – – – a couple of months passed,

before I received a response from him, – it wasn’t

so important, – but I thought it was

strange, that he wrote to me on the

very day, of his departure; – he did not dare

to undertake critiquing me, – nor did he give 

me his address in Paris, which I had asked

him to; – presumably "evil tongues"

have been working against me there too, as 

almost everywhere else, – I wrote later to 

Miss Kamstrup and asked her to obtain his 

address, – but I have not heard anything

X

from her either; – I am now thinking of 

travelling to Germany, if the conditions are regulated

enough, so that one can live there more or

less safely; – I would like to study

the abstract painters more closely –

Kandinsky and the other Russians; – they

interest me in fact more than the

French – Picasso and Mattisse, – I would 

nevertheless love to have a French

painter like Le Faùcònniere as an instructor, –

I have heard that he has been running a painting 

school in recent years; – I think he is

the most interesting of all the modern

French painters, – he is more 

than a cubist and expressionist; – but since

I am more or less illiterate in French, 

I would probably benefit more from

studying under one of the German Russian paint-

ers of the same movement in Munich.

Maybe I should not study under

XI

any other painter, – but merely seek a

tranquil place in the South, where the climate is good,

and where I without anxiety and under better

conditions can attempt to create, what

I have strived to do for several years in vain, 

but it is difficult to find such a

place, – Spain might perhaps be best,

since it has been neutral during the war,

and there is also much art to see; but I

would need to have a book or some other 

description of Spain, so that I might "locate"

a place, that was suitable for me; – dare I

ask You to inquire with Höst, whether he might

recommend a book or a brochure for me

about Spain either in German or Norwegian.

Incidentally if there has been a recession and a boom 

period in Spain as in all neutral countries,

then it will be expensive to live there, – on the other hand it  

can’t be much worse than here. –

Well You must forgive me for bothering You

with all this talk of travel; – I have thought

XII

for so long about making this trip – thought of

at least a hundred places; – when one intends to

travel – one would like to embrace the entire globe

first, – to then find what one likes best

and settle down there, – and I keep saying

to myself: "Imagine if it had been

10 years ago!" – Had I only

known some shipowners, whose ship

I might gain passage on for a reasonable price

(or for some pictures); – because the travel

expenses devour almost everything (now with 

the expensive shipping rates). Round trip to

Spain would cost approx. 2200 kr. when 

one (as one is obliged to now) shall travel

via Rotterdam – Amsterdam; – (and most

likely even more via England).

To bring the entire family along will 

be too expensive, – although in fact it

would probably be just as expensive to run two house-

holds; – I have not had the strength to do any work

on the farm myself this year, and therefore have little for

XIII

the family to live off at home, – and I

cannot afford to hire hands to do all the farm-

work, – one demands 7-10 kr.

per day plus food, – and even at such

prices it is difficult find people.

Engel is with good reason inclined to be

afraid of being left alone on the farm 

with all the children – even if she could get

hold of a young girl to help out – there is in fact 

such a lack of housemaids across all of Western 

Norway this year that even the stingiest farm-

ers offer 1000-1200 for a housemaid, – almost

all of them have gone to the cities, – and the few, who are

left, are either farmer’s daughters, who must stay 

at home on their father’s farms, – or there are a few 

"old maids" who demand the most

unreasonable conditions such as feeding the sheep for them.

I have kept close to home this year, – and made 

only one proper trip to the mountains, – but it was

magnificent, – a few days’ living the life of a woodsman

in the mountains is the most wonderful thing – a

friend of mine (who has been living in my cabins in Mykle-

XIIII

bùst for a year and a half now) came along on the trip – 

likewise his wife and sister; – they were city folk

folk and could never have imagined, that there

might be such magnificent nature in the midst of the "uncivilised" 

mountain, – but in the end we came upon a 

rather large deserted mountain settlement or "glen", – where

there was an absolute wasteland of snow and stones around 

the "Ice lake", and then I think the others had enough 

of "the wilderness"; – there wasn’t a twig to 

cook coffee with; – but with the help of a mass 

of old dry ferns and an improvised

stone oven we managed to brew our coffee in the end.

When we wandered past the so-called "Fagrivatten", (a remote

mountain lake) I thought of You, that You should have

seen this, – I had seen it before – and admired it, – but

this time it was a revelation, – there was

by coincidence a mystical light – so magic-

al and supernatural, – veiled and potent in colour

at the same time, something I have never seen the likes of before.

Well now You must forgive me, for bothering

You with so much "nonsense". – Hope You and Your

family are living well! – Will we see you here this year? You are always

welcome – whenever it might be – Greetings to Höst and

Your children and to You the warmest greetings from all of us 

here. Engel says hello to Inger. Your Astrup