In 1870, when future interior designer Odin Oyen was five years old, he and his family joined the swathes of Scandinavians immigrating to the United States. By 1872, they had settled in Madison, Wisconsin. At 14, Oyen apprenticed with a local artist, and in 1883 he moved to Chicago to study at the Art Institute. He opened his own design firm, Odin J. Oyen, in 1892, and found great success designing a wide variety of buildings intended for public use, such as courthouses, hotels, hospitals, libraries, theaters, and schools.

Odin J. Oyen’s best-known buildings include courthouses in Aberdeen, South Dakota and La Crosse, Minnesota, public libraries in La Crosse and Mankato, Minnesota, and theaters for the Finkelstein and Rubin chain, and for the murals and paintings that adorned their projects. After Oyen's death in 1926, the firm continued under the management of his brother Louis and son Leighton Oyen, until Louis' death in 1931. The firm closed in the mid-1930s amid the Great Depression and changing tastes in interior decoration. (University of Wisconsin, La Crosse)

The present collection represents Oyen’s success and popularity at the dawn of the 20th century. There are examples his design and mural work in situ, as well as interesting exterior shots of his firms. Also included are numerous pieces of ephemera, such as
postcards and other advertising leaflets, with one stating the goal of the Oyen Decorative Shop is to produce "correct, exclusive, individual effects." There are also a few different Wisconsin journals with printed examples of the firm's endeavors. Also included in the collection are photographs from Leighton and Louis Oyen's tenure as heads of the business.

Two other highlights of the collection are a small piece of original art, a design for the seal of Minnesota, and one of Oyen's notebooks, which contents a comprehensive client list.