Lars Kinsarvik was born in Hardanger, Norway, and attended school in Bergen. He is recognized as one of the originators of the Viking style and was best known for the elaborately carved and painted furniture that paid tribute to Norse medieval period. Kinsarvik accepted commissions for painting and carving in restaurants and hotels but is especially revered in Norway for carving and painting the elements of 13 churches in and around Bergen between 1907 and 1915. After suffering a severe disease of the eyes, he lost his sight in 1917. Kinsarvik lived his final years in the village of his birth.
