Interior designer Odin J. Oyen was born in Trondjem, Norway on May 21, 1865. After immigrating to the United States in 1870 the Oyen family settled in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1872. There, Oyen was apprenticed to a Madison artist, a Mr. Nelson, at the age of fourteen. In 1883 he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago and upon graduation settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 1888 Oyen joined Nelson's son Louis to form Nelson & Oyen. This association dissolved in 1890. In 1891 Oyen was joined in La Crosse by his father, Lars, a gilder and molder, and by his brother, Louis, who was also an artisan. In the following year Oyen formed a new business, Odin J. Oyen, and employed his father and brother as artists. In 1902 Oyen bought a sign and bill posting company which he renamed the Oyen-Ad Sign System.
During its heyday (1902-1917) the Oyen firm was in demand across the upper Midwest, employing between fifteen and twenty-five artisans. Among them was Joseph Erickson, a Norwegian artist who became Oyen's first full-time artist/designer in 1895. Oyen's most significant artisan was Axel Edward Soderberg, who worked with the firm until his death in 1922.
Oyen specialized in buildings such as churches, hotels and clubs, hospitals, libraries, courthouses, schools, theaters, and breweries. The firm is perhaps best known for the murals and paintings its artists produced for such buildings. Among Oyen's best known works are public libraries in La Crosse and Mankato, Minnesota; courthouses in La Crosse, Aberdeen (South Dakota), and Sibley (Iowa); and numerous theaters for the Finkelstein and Rubin chain. Oyen's work could also be found in banks and churches from Illinois to Montana. Oyen worked in association with many architects throughout the Midwest, most notably the firms of Schick and Roth and Segelke and Kohlhaus. Oyen's extensive knowledge of American artists such as Charles Russell and Frederick Remington, meant that he was able to provide his clients with design from an array of artistic styles.
Although he executed residential designs and sold interior furnishings at his retail store, Oyen did not concentrate on this aspect of the business until a post-World War I strike in La Crosse affected the completion of his national contracts. Afterward Oyen concentrated on residential work, particularly in the La Crosse area. Examples of his residential work could be found in the homes of Charles Ringling, Henry Gund, S.U. Pinney, and Edward Bartl.
In 1896 Odin Oyen married Emma Nelson, a Madison school teacher. They had two sons, Leighton (b. 1897) and Harold (b. 1900), both of whom eventually joined the family firm, Leighton as an artisan and Harold as a salesman. Odin Oyen died in July, 1926, preceded by his father (d. 1897) and his younger son, Harold (d. 1925). After Odin Oyen's death the firm continued under the management of Louis and Leighton Oyen until Louis' death in 1931. The firm then continued under Leighton's management, but the Great Depression, coupled with changing tastes in interior decoration, caused the business to fold a few years later.
