Anders Svor (December 14, 1864 – May 2, 1929) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

sculptor. He was a realist influenced by

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, and

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

was also an important inspiration. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

Life

Svor was a farmer's son, the child of Rasmus Kristofer Svor (1835–1914) and Ragnhild Svor née Seljeset (1834–1902). He was born and raised at the Svor farm in

Hornindal Hornindal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It existed from 1867 until 1965 and then again from 1977 until 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative centre of the munici ...

. Already as a boy he showed unusual abilities in wood carving, which would be the start of his artist life. Anders Svor museum

At the age of 17, he traveled to

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo), where he began as a woodcutter at the Hals Brothers piano factory. Later he became a student at the Royal Drawing School (now 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 ...

), where he studied under Julius Middelthun. At the age of 21 he went to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, where he became a student at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

and studied under

Stephan Sinding Stephan Abel Sinding (4 August 1846 – 23 January 1922) was a Norwegian- Danish sculptor. He moved to Copenhagen in 1883 and had his breakthrough the same year. In 1890 he obtained Danish citizenship. In 1910 he settled in Paris where he live ...

and

Vilhelm Bissen Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen (5 August 1836 – 20 April 1913) was a Danish sculptor. He was also a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors and for a while serv ...

. Svor lived for a time in Paris, but settled in Kristiania, where he had his studio and residence. He lived alone and died on May 2, 1929. He is buried at

Hornindal Church Hornindal Church ( no, Hornindal kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in the municipality of Volda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Grodås, at the eastern end of the lake Hornindalsvatnet. It is ...

. In his native Hornindal, the

Anders Svor Museum The Anders Svor Museum is an art museum in Grodås, Norway dedicated to the sculptor Anders Svor (1864–1929), who was from the village. The museum building, which contains most of the sculptor's work, a total of 450 works, was opened in 1953. ...

was opened in the village of

Grodås Grodås is a village in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the river Horndøla on the eastern end of the lake Hornindalsvatnet, about southwest of the mountain Hornindalsrokken. The village si ...

in 1953. It contains about 450 works by the artist.

Career

Svor participated in several art exhibitions in Kristiania, Copenhagen, Paris, and Chicago. Svor experienced his great breakthrough with his sculpture ''David''. At an international art exhibition in Berlin in 1891, he received a gold medal for this work of art, a prestigious award. The statue was destroyed while being shipped from an exhibit in Chicago. Together with Sofus Madsen, Svor participated in the

in Paris with his sculpture ''Diskoskaster'' (

Discus Thrower The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

). In 1891 Svor won the competition for the

Tordenskjold Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskiold (28 October 1690 – 12 November 1720), commonly referred to as Tordenskjold (), was a Norwegian nobleman and flag officer who spent his career in the service of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He rose to the rank ...

monument in Kristiania. However, he was unable to complete it, which was a difficult blow for the young artist. After his death, Svor's ''Tordenskiold-statuen'' (Tordenskjold Statue) was unveiled by

King Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

, and a copy was unveiled by Crown Prince Harald at

Haakonsvern Haakonsvern is the main base of the Royal Norwegian Navy and the largest naval base in the Nordic area. The base is located at Mathopen within Bergen municipality, about 15 km south-west of the city centre. Around 5,400 people work at the base ...

.''Dag og Tid'', January 2, 2014. Regarding Svor's sculpture ''Bølgen'' (The Wave) exhibited at

Skillebekk Skillebekk is a neighbourhood of Oslo, Norway. It is located near Solli plass in the West End of Oslo, and is served by the station Skillebekk on the Skøyen Line The Skøyen Line ( no, Skøyenlinjen/''Skøyenlinja'') is a tramway line running ...

and ''Etter badet'' (After the Bath) outside Bislet Baths, the novelist

Edvard Hoem Edvard Hoem (born 10 March 1949) is a Norwegian novelist, dramatist, lyricist, psalmist and government scholar. He made his literary debut in 1969, with the poetry collection ''Som grønne musikantar''. He was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize f ...

wrote that he was struck by what the statues express; that they have "both excitement and grace." According to Hoem, Svor's work was overshadowed by the dominant sculptor

Gustav Vigeland Gustav Vigeland (11 April 1869 – 12 March 1943), born as Adolf Gustav Thorsen, was a Norwegian sculptor. Gustav Vigeland occupies a special position among Norwegian sculptors, both in the power of his creative imagination and in his product ...

. The writer Morten Johan Svendsen writes that Svor's figurative imagery seems "both outdated and foreign today," while both Svendsen and the writer Inge Fænn believe that Svor was one of Norway's foremost sculptors after Vigeland.

Sculptures

* ''Tordenskiold-statuen'' (Tordenskjold Statue) at the Naval Officers Club ( no, Sjømilitære Samfund) in Horten, unveiled by King Olav V, copy at Haakonsvern unveiled by Crown Prince Harald * ''Bolgen'' (The Wave), a.k.a. ''Havfruefontenen'' (The Mermaid Fountain) at Skillebekk in Oslo * ''David'', a prize-winning work at a competition in Berlin * ''Christian Michelsen'' and ''Oscar II'' at the Anders Svor Museum * ''Etter badet'' (After the Bath) at Bislet Baths in Oslo * Statue of Svend Foyn in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

* Bust of

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

* Bust of

Christian Michelsen Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway and Norway's 9th prime minis ...

* Bust of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

* Bust of Wollert Konow * Bust of

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

Life

Career

Sculptures

References

Further reading