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

Biography

Bøe was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, 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. Bøe attended

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college 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 Wadham, a ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

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. and cand.philol. degrees at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1955. He also studied at

École du Louvre The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''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 ...

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 ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. 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 () is a museum in Oslo, Norway. Its collection includes clothing, textile, furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, and handicrafts. Since 2003, the museum has been administratively a part of the Na ...

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, ...

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'') and the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design () was established in 1818. In 1996, the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts (''Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo'', KHiO), along with the Norwegian National Academy of ...

(''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 ...

(''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 The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1998. He died during 2010 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boe, Alf 1927 births 2010 deaths Curators from Bergen Norwegian expatriates in England 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