Iron Range painter helped make 'Grace' picture famous

Eric Enstrom created "Grace." His daughter, Rhoda Nyberg, helped spread it around the world.

Nyberg, whose hand-coloring of a simple yet powerful photo of a peddler in prayer helped make the picture one of the world's most-reproduced images, died Tuesday in Grand Rapids. She was 95.

The photo of the man bowed before a humble meal was taken by Nyberg's father in Bovey in 1918.

The image "just hit people right" during the Depression and afterward, said Nyberg's daughter, Kris Mayerle of rural Bovey. "She was just very, very proud of the picture and of my grandpa."

Nyberg was born and raised in Bovey the year before the famous photograph was made. She went to junior college in Coleraine and fashion design school in Minneapolis. She was working as a dress designer in Duluth when her father asked her to come home to help with the family photography studio.

Meanwhile, the popularity of "Grace" had developed slowly over time as the black-and-white image was featured in exhibitions and spotted by people passing through town.

Their paths crossed again when Nyberg learned how to hand-color photos. She used heavy oil paints to bring color to "Grace," and sales of the image took over to the point that the family had to sell the publishing rights because they couldn't keep up with demand.

It was Nyberg's version that was used by the publisher, Mayerle said -- it has been reproduced a million times, by some estimates. And that was the image recognized by the Minnesota Legislature and then-Gov. Jesse Ventura in 2002 as the state's official photograph. But Nyberg didn't stop with "Grace."

"The amount of pictures she painted in her lifetime floors me," Mayerle said. "She never stopped taking lessons. ... I've got (her paintings) all over my house, my brother does, my cousins -- half of Coleraine."

Nyberg painted in oils and watercolors, with flowers and landscapes favorite subjects. She also completed pen-and-ink sketches of historic buildings in Coleraine for a walking tour brochure; it's available on the city's website.

Nyberg also was a good cook, proud of her Swedish heritage, an avid collector of china and very active in her church and Coleraine community groups.

A stroke in 2004 put an end to many of her creative pursuits, but Nyberg continued to enjoy family gatherings, especially at cabins and homes of family members on Bass Lake near Bovey.

"Her family was her life," Mayerle said. "How she had time to do all these other things, I don't know."

Nyberg is survived by three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, among other family and friends. The family is planning a memorial service and celebration of Nyberg's life this summer.