Artist B.J.O. Nordfeldt (1878–1955) moved to Lambertville, New Jersey, in 1937. The transition to his new home proved challenging, marked by periods of isolation and depression. 

Beginning in 1944, Nordfeldt shared his frustrations, disappointments, and occasional triumphs through letters and sketches sent to Emily Abbott—a former student at the Minneapolis School of Art, a close friend, and later, his wife. In a series of spare yet expressive line drawings, Nordfeldt captured the daily anxieties of life as an artist, infusing his experiences with humor, warmth, and flashes of fantasy. 

In 2024, the Michener Art Museum acquired 122 sketches from Nordfeldt’s correspondence with Abbott. The exhibition And So To Work: B.J.O. Nordfeldt’s Lambertville features approximately two dozen of these intimate works. Join Assistant Curator Abi Lua as she discusses how selections were made from the larger group, exploring how curators choose artworks and the stories these drawings reveal about Nordfeldt’s life and creative process.