How did the painting come about?
In 1969 Marjorie Nordwall was commissioned by Rev. Riedar Kalland the West Coast Regional Director for the Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. to paint a portrait of Jesus to be used on the visual aid for the song "Happiness is the Lord" by Ira Stanphill. When the song was finally released in 1970 it was sent out to hundreds of Good News Club and Sunday School teachers across the country. However, no one noticed that the word "Happiness" was spelled incorrectly. The printer miss spelled "Hapiness" with only one "P" on the front cover, however it was spelled correctly every where else in the song. The songs were quickly recalled and the printer corrected the spelling error.
In 1969 Marjorie Nordwall was commissioned by Rev. Riedar Kalland the West Coast Regional Director for the Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. to paint a portrait of Jesus to be used on the visual aid for the song "Happiness is the Lord" by Ira Stanphill. When the song was finally released in 1970 it was sent out to hundreds of Good News Club and Sunday School teachers across the country. However, no one noticed that the word "Happiness" was spelled incorrectly. The printer miss spelled "Hapiness" with only one "P" on the front cover, however it was spelled correctly every where else in the song. The songs were quickly recalled and the printer corrected the spelling error.
Later, in 2006 Rev. Riedar Kalland presented the original "Happiness is the Lord" oil portrait of Jesus by Marjorie Nordwall to Rev. Edmund Zegan at his retirement celebration for his 42 years of service with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Southern California as well as being the West Coast Regional Director.
Recently after the death of Marjorie Nordwall in February 2015 Rev. Zegan and his family decided to make the "Happiness is the Lord" portrait of Jesus available to the public. A limited reproduction canvas edition of 500 copies are available in eight different sizes for a total of only 4,000 copies.
Out of all of the portraits of Jesus that Marjorie Nordwall painted, the "Happiness is the Lord" portrait of Jesus has to be the one portrait that has been seen by more people in the world than any of her other portraits of Jesus.
Out of all of the portraits of Jesus that Marjorie Nordwall painted, the "Happiness is the Lord" portrait of Jesus has to be the one portrait that has been seen by more people in the world than any of her other portraits of Jesus.
Why are the reproductions not available on stretched canvas?
Basically for two reasons. First to keep the shipping cost down and second, we wanted each reproduction to be unique and different. Rather than making each frame the same you are now able to make your portrait personally unique to your own liking.
Can I purchase more than one print?
Yes, this portrait makes a wonderful gift for both you and your family plus we also offer volume discounts so please contact us at HappinessIsTheLord@outlook.com for more information.