Gunnar Gunnarsson Helland

Gunnar Gunnarsson Helland (January 26, 1885 – April 20, 1976) was a Norwegian-American Hardanger fiddle maker.

Helland worked in the traditional region of Telemark in the workshop of his father, Gunnar Olavsson Helland, until he emigrated to United States in 1901 and settled in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

In 1927, Gunnar Helland moved to Minneapolis and spent two years working at Lundh & Rowe for Jacob Lundh (1865-1951) and Frederick Rowe (1884-1976).

In 1929, he moved to Fargo, North Dakota where he established the Helland Music Company on the third floor of a building on Broadway.

Gunnar Helland made several design changes on his later violins including lamination inside the sound holes for increased strength, shorter sound holes, a lower profile and a pattern that was much closer to the style of Guarneri del Gesu.