Alf Bøe (8 September 1927 – 8 June 2010) was a Norwegian art historian, educator, curator and author.

Biography

Bøe was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. He was a son of professor Johannes Bøe (1891–1971) and Dagny Godager (1896–1982). His father was a professor of archeology at the

University Museum of Bergen The University Museum of Bergen ( no, Universitetsmuseet i Bergen) is a university museum in Bergen, Norway. The museum features material related to anthropology, archaeology, botany, geology, zoology, art, and cultural history. History The Univ ...

. Bøe attended

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

during 1954 under a Norwegian Oxford Scholarship. He earned a Bachelor of Letters degree on the basis of his thesis ''From Gothic Revival to Functional Form: A Study in Victorian Theories of Design ''. He received his

mag.art. A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the ...

and cand.philol. degrees at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1955. He also studied at

École du Louvre The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and grande école located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy. Admission is ...

from 1956 to 1957. From 1959 to 1962 he was a curator at the Nordenfjeldske Museum of Crafts and Design (''Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum'') in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. From 1962 to 1968 he was the head curator at the

Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design The Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design ( no, Kunstindustrimuseet) is a museum in Oslo, Norway. Its collection includes clothing, textile, furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, and handicrafts. Since 2003, the museum has been administra ...

in Oslo. He was the director of the Norwegian Design Center (''Norsk Designcentrum'') in Oslo from 1968 to 1973, lecturer in art history at the

from 1973 to 1976, and then the director of Oslo municipality's art collections from 1976 to 1995. Bøe held membership in the

International Council of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, I ...

and was associated with the Brukskunst Association (''Foreningen Brukskunst''). He also held a number of directorships in cultural institutions. He was president of the Association of Applied Arts (''Foreningen Brukskunst'') and the Scandinavian Museums Association (''Skandinavisk Museumsforbund''), He was chairman of the Norwegian Art and Cultural History Museum (''Norske kunst- og kulturhistoriske museer''), the Society for the Welfare of Oslo (''

Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel ( en, Society for the Welfare of Oslo), often known as Oslo Byes Vel, is a non-profit heritage association for the benefit of Oslo, Norway's capital city. It was established in 1811 by Niels Wulfsberg. History Niels Wul ...

'') and the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design ( no, Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) was established in 1818. In 1996 the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the A ...

(''Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole''). Bøe wrote books on a variety of art history related topics. His bachelor's thesis
''From Gothic Revival to Functional Form''
(published by Oslo University Press, Oslo, 1957) is available internationally and remains his best known work. Other books include ''Om filigran'' (1959 with Thale Riisøen), ''Norwegian Industrial Design'' (1963), ''Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik'' (1967), ''Den norske designpris'' (1969), ''Samliv med fortiden'' (1976) and ''Edvard Munch'' (1992). He contributed to volumes five, six and seven of ''Norges kunsthistorie''.

Personal life

Between 1955 and 1972 he was married to Kari Færden. In 1972 he married Ulla Tarras-Wahlberg. He received the

Oslo City Culture Award The Oslo City Culture Award is a Norwegian award given to a person, group or cultural activity of outstanding achievement in or long-time contribution to arts, science or other cultural work in the city of Oslo's or the country's cultural life. A b ...

(''Oslo bys kulturpris'') in 1996 and Norsk Forms Honors Award (''Norsk Forms Hederspris'') in 1999. He was decorated as a Knight of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1992 and as an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1998. He died during 2010 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boe, Alf 1927 births 2010 deaths Curators from Bergen Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in France Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian art historians Norwegian non-fiction writers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal