The Bridge Volume 29 Number 2 Article 37 2006 Gyde-Petersen, A Skagen Artist in America John Robert Christianson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge Part of the European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, and the Regional Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Christianson, John Robert (2006) "Gyde-Petersen, A Skagen Artist in America," The Bridge: Vol. 29 : No. 2 , Article 37. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol29/iss2/37 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Bridge by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Gyde-Petersen, A Skagen Artist in America by John Robert Christianson Mankato, Minnesota, was thrilled. A famous artist had come to town with his palette, easel, and painter's smock, and people noticed. The Mankato Free Press ran a sto under a bold headline: The reporter gushed away for two columns on the delight of having in their midst a European artist who had been knighted by a king.1 The year was 1924. My mother was a teen-aged college student at the time, and she came from Mankato. She told me that her "Uncle Gyde's" English skills were rudimentary. When curious residents peered over his shoulder, looked at the painting on the easel, and complemented the artist, he replied, in a friendly tone, "I can't stand you." What he meant to say was "I can't understand you." In any case, he was allowed to continue his painting in peace.