Nadjeschda Overgaard
Nadjeschda Overgaard born Nadjeschda Lynge (1905 in Tara, Siberia – 2003 in Elk Horn, Iowa) was a Russian-born Danish-American needle-worker who received a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts for her lifetime of work in 1998.[1]
Life
Born to Danish dairy producers working temporarily in Siberia, she returned to Denmark when she was five years old and the Russian Revolution broke out. She emigrated to Elk Horn, Iowa with her family when she was 10. She worked as a teacher and married a Dane, Niels Overgaard, in 1933. She had learned embroidery in the traditional styles such as the Hardanger embroidery. She also took on a role as a teacher of traditional Danish culture, including paper cutting, cooking and singing, within the Danish-American community in Elk Horn and Kimballton.[1] Her work has been exhibited in several exhibitions of Iowa folk art, and is included in the collection of the State Historical Society of Iowa and at the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn.[1][2][3]