The list of painters who have visited Nutheim from 1900 till today is a long one. Recorders of popular folklore, such as Wille, Asbjørnsen & Moe, Rikard Berge, Landstad, Olea Krøger and Johan Meyer:  all came to this part of Telemark.
 

The artists were looking for the sources of these writers’ myths and stories, and at the same time to be close to nature in order to paint the special light that that’s found here. They were known as Telemarksmalerne - the Telemark Painters. 
 

During World War I, Henrik Sørensen and Thorvald Erichsen stayed at Nutheim. Erik Werenskiold, Henrik Sørensen, Harald Kihle and Kai Fjell led the trend. They got inspiration from daily life, local arts and crafts and the magnificent beauty of the nature.
 

Several of the candidates who competed to decorate the Oslo Town Hall at the time were regular patrons at Nutheim: Åge Storstein, Willi Middelfart, Dagfinn Werenskiold, Alf Rolfsen  and Per Palle Storm were amongst the most notable ones.

Others include Johannes Rian, Søren Sten Johnsen, Charles W. Strøm, Anita Greve and Olle Angkvist.
 

In its heyday, over 30 artists moved to Flatdal for the summer every year.

At the first half of the 1940s, a new wave of painters arrived, such as Rudolf Thygesen,

Sigurd Winge, Kåre Espolin Johnsen, Ridley Borchgrevink and Harald Dahl.
 

During the 1950s and 60s, Eystein Sigurson, Arne Stømne, Eva Bull Holte, John Anker, Eigil Madsen, and Terje and Erlend Grøstad bought properties in Flatdal and the surrounding villages. Many artists still live here. From recent times, Knut Flatin, , Philipp Dommen, Torhild Grøstad , Anders Kvåle Rue, Anne Lise Rønjom Rue and Trygve M. Barstad are worth mentioning.