Fred Hultstrand - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Fred Hultstrand was a professional photographer. His photography helped document life in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

in the early twentieth century.

Background

Hultstrand was born on a farm in Fairdale, North Dakota

Fairdale, North Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 51 people, 26 households, and 15 families residing in the city. The population density was 164.0 people per square mile . There were 38 housing units at an average density of 122.2 per square mile...

, to Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

immigrants, the third of six children. He attended school in Osnabrock, North Dakota

Osnabrock, North Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 174 people, 64 households, and 40 families residing in the city. The population density was 592.2 people per square mile . There were 85 housing units at an average density of 289.3 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 95.98% White, 2.30% Native...

, with only knowledge of his native tongue. In 1905, Hultstrand witnessed his neighbor developing negatives

Negative (photography)

In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...

in the basement of his home and was fascinated. In 1909, he paid to be an apprentice

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...

to a photographer in Milton, North Dakota

Milton, North Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 85 people, 40 households, and 22 families residing in the city. The population density was 214.8 people per square mile . There were 60 housing units at an average density of 151.7 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 90.59% White, 2.35% Native...

, named John McCarthy. He went to Wallace, Idaho

Wallace, Idaho

Wallace is a historic city in the Panhandle region of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Shoshone County in the Silver Valley mining district...

, to photograph lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

and zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

mines.

The next year, he went to study his art at the Illinois College of Photography

Illinois College of Photography

The Illinois College of Photography and Bissell College of Photo Engraving was founded in the late 19th century and was located initially on the Austin College campus in Effingham County, Illinois. It later moved to its separate studio and buildings in 1900 at 910–945 Wabash Ave in Effingham...

in Effingham

Effingham, Illinois

Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,384 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Effingham County....

. After studying there for two years, he continued his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...

. He made his way back to North Dakota where he would spend the rest of his life.

Career

On November 14, 1917, Hultstrand married Eva Baker, an immigrant from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

with whom he would have two children. He purchased the photography studio

Studio

A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...

in which he would work for the rest of his days in Park River, North Dakota

Park River, North Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,535 people, 660 households, and 390 families residing in the city. The population density was 772.6 people per square mile . There were 760 housing units at an average density of 382.5 per square mile...

. There, he offered portrait photographs

Portrait

thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

, as well as film development and framing services. He would also work on the photographs that documented rural farm life in North Dakota in that era.

In 1962, the United States Department of the Treasury

United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

used one of the photographs that Hultstrand had collected as a basis for a stamp that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Homestead Act

Homestead Act

A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....

. It featured a family standing outside of their sod

Sod

Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...

house near the town of Milton

Milton, North Dakota

. The government of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

issued a stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Norwegian emigration to the United States, using the same photograph. Hultstrand died at age seventy-nine in 1968.

External links

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