Exhibits
The Little Red Horse Exhibit
Celebrities & Their Dalahasts Exhibit
The King himself owned several Dalahast. Since he was so popular in Sweden, the nation sent him a 3' Dalahast in hopes to entice Elvis to tour in Sweden for his Scandinavian fans. Come see The King's Dalahast, which is part of our collection.
Former President, Bill Clinton owns several Dalahast. He was also given one from the Swedish Prime Minister when he visited Sweden in 1999. It is also rumored that the former president owns a 14' Dalahast. Former President Clinton was kind of enough to donate several of his Dalahast to our exhibit.
The world-wide fame of Bob Hope is rivaled by only that of the Dalahast and that explains why Hope owned several Dalahast. His collection began when he was filming the movie, "I'll Take Sweden" when he was first introduced to the little red horse. After Mr. Hope passed away his collection was donated to our museum by his family.
Paint & Create Workshop
The creation of the Dalahast is primarily in four villages, but Nusnas is where they are still being made today. The wood used for the Dalahast comes from the forests near Lake Siljan in Nusnas. Nowadays it takes a skilled worker about 2 weeks to produce one Dalahast. They begin by stamping a template on the piece of wood and then using a saw, they cut the general shape of the horse from the wood. From here, the worker hand carves the horse until they have the desired shape.
Next comes the vibrant red paint that defines a Dalahast and the red paint is a direct influence from Sweden's red painted houses. The horses are dipped in primer and then into the main color, mainly red, but many colors are used nowadays. Each horse is then buffed and polished to create a smooth, shiny finish, and then given a second layer of primer.
In 1830, Stika Erik Hannsson, a Swedish artist from the village of Risa, decided to begin painting the red horse with a simple, but intricate, version of the Kurbit Style of painting which was already prominent across Sweden. This style was previously used to decorate furniture but quickly became synonymous with the Dalahast and is still hand painted on the horses to this day.
In our workshop you will learn to paint the traditional Dalahast by world renowned Swedish artist, Jan Bergerlind. Bergerlind has worked as a professional artist for more than 30 years and his works have appeared in numerous venues across Scandinavia and Europe. He will teach the traditional painting technique and even help you paint your own Dalahast!
During our Paint & Create workshop, once you have received your lesson from Jan Bergerlind you will then have the opportunity to try your hand at painting your very own Dalahast. We provide all necessary materials free of charge, all you need to bring is your creative mind.
Also in our Paint & Create workshop is a fascinating demonstration of how traditional Dalahast are hand carved from a block of wood. Our resident Woodworkers will carve Dalahast right before your eyes. While they are carving they will explain everything that they are doing, it is like a look back in time to the 1800's.
Museum Layout
