Benny Anette Motzfeldt (née Berg Nilssen; 26 June 190924 November 1995) was a Norwegian visual artist and glass designer and sculptor.

Biography

Benny Anette Berg Motzfeldt was born at

Levanger Levanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the district of Innherred. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Levanger. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Alstadhaug, Ekne ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

, Norway. She was a daughter of physician Andreas Berg Nilssen (1876–1952) and Benny Marie Dahl (1878–1955). She was educated at 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 (''Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo'', KHiO). ...

(''Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole'') (1931-35) and debuted at the Autumn Exhibition (''Høstutstillingen'') in Oslo (1936). She engaged as a designer of glass art by Christiania Glasmagasin (1955) and

Hadeland Glassverk Hadeland Glassverk is situated in Jevnaker, Viken 40 km north of Oslo, at the southern tip of lake Randsfjorden. History The glass works was founded in 1762 on land belonging to the Mo estate. Production started in 1765. At the time Norway ...

(1955-67). Later she was an artistic director at Randsfjord Glassworks (1967-70) and then at Glasshytta at PLUS in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

, which she led in the period 1970–79. Motzfeldt is particularly known for her works with

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

. Her works are represented at various museums in Norway, at the

National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Oslo 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 ...

, at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Kunstindustrimuseum in

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 ...

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and Frauenau Glass Museum (Donation Wolfgang Kermer) in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She was awarded the Souvenir-prisen (1964), Jakob-prisen (1969) and the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal ( sv, Prins Eugen-medaljen) is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthd ...

(1985). She was decorated Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav (1985). In 1992, she was awarded the Anders Jahre Cultural Prize (''Anders Jahres kulturpris'') jointly with poet

Halldis Moren Vesaas Halldis Moren Vesaas (18 November 1907 – 8 September 1995) was a Norwegian poet, translator and writer of children's books. She established herself as one of the leading Norwegian writers of her generation. Biography She was born on a f ...

(1907–1995). She was married three times; in her third marriage with Lieutenant General

Birger Fredrik Motzfeldt Birger Fredrik Motzfeldt OBE, CVO (22 February 18983 September 1987) was a Norwegian aviator and military officer. During World War II he administered the development of the Royal Norwegian Air Force in exile in Great Britain. During the Cold ...

(1898–1987).

References

External links

Benny Motzfeldt Catalog
1909 births 1995 deaths People from Levanger Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Norwegian artists Norwegian male artists Glass artists Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal {{Norway-artist-stub