History
The art of retreating
William Henry Singer Jr. (Billy) was born in Pittsburgh, USA in 1868. He was chosen by his father to take over the family business; Singer Nimick & Co. To his father's great despair, Singer chose art over business. In 1895, he married Anna Brugh Spencer from Maryland. Together with their Norwegian friend Martin Borgord, they traveled around Europe for several years to find the perfect place. A place where they could retreat, find peace and paint. When they first came to Olden in 1913, Anna said: “Billy, I have found my country!” Here, the three-legged friend Billy, Anna and Martin would finally find peace of mind. But their stay in Olden would also prove to be a challenge.
The silence and the atmosphere paint their own
Billy was known in the art circles in the USA and the Netherlands as “the painter of silence and mood”. With his landscape paintings from Olden he also made the western landscape known to those interested in art in the USA and Europe. Today there are two Singer museums; the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, which is located in Maryland, Anna's hometown. And SingerLaren, which was built on the property of Billy and Anna in Laren in the Netherlands.
Millionaires among farmers
It was not every day that wealthy Americans moved to the then poor village of Olden. Not only did they build a large estate consisting of ten buildings and over thirty employees. They also financed the development of the Olden-Innvik road, the hospital at Nordfjordeid, the new Olden church, the Aldaheim village hall and a power plant in the village. At the same time, they distributed countless large and small gifts to the farmers in the village. In 1936, Billy received the King's Medal of Merit for his community involvement. Anna did the same in 1950.
