Erik Bryn Hesselberg (4 June 1914 – 15 September 1972) was a Norwegian sailor, author, photographer, painter and sculptor. He is most known as a crewmember of the

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, for ...

raft expedition from South America to

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

in 1947.

Kon-Tiki expedition chronometer, Erik Hesseberg's sextant

Biography

Erik Hesselberg was born at Brevik in

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Norway. He grew up at

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

. He knew

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...

from his childhood years. Having graduated from his secondary school, Erik Hesselberg went on to a sailors' school and later worked as a professional sailor for five years, making several trips around the world. Later Hesselberg studied art in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany. He stayed in Germany when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, so he could not return to Norway and started working as a decorator in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

. In 1945, he and his German-born wife, Liselotte (Liss) Güldner, relocated to

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Norway.

Kon-Tiki expedition

In 1947, Hesselberg lived in the village of Borre and worked as a painter.

approached him and invited to become a navigator on the Kon-Tiki expedition. During the trip, he worked as an astronavigator and

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

as he was the only professional sailor. He painted the large Kon-Tiki figure on the raft's main sail. Also, he drew sketches, took photographs, carved wooden statuettes, and played guitar.

Later years

After the expedition, Hesselberg wrote and illustrated his only book ''Kon-Tiki og Jeg'' (Dreyers Vorlag. 1949) The book has since been translated into a number of languages including English. Later he built and lived on his own ship sailing for 11 years to in such places as

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

, Corsica and Italy, while working as a sculptor and painter. Among his friends were

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

, and

Carl Nesjar Carl Nesjar (né Carlsen; 6 July 1920 – 23 May 2015) was a Norwegian painter, sculptor and graphic artist. He is best known for his collaborations with Pablo Picasso; serving for nearly twenty years as Picasso's chosen fabricator — the artis ...

. Subsequently, he sold his ship and lived in the United States, Germany, and Sweden, until his final return in 1969–1970 to Larvik. He was married several times and had three children: daughter Anne Karin Hesselberg (b. 1946), son Caelou Hesselberg (b. 1958), and daughter Susanna Hesselberg (b. 1967). Hesselberg died in Larvik at age 58 of a heart condition and was buried there. He left many photographic pictures, graphic works, sculptures, and more than 200 songs for guitar.

Book

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References

External links

Kon-Tiki’ successfully navigates the depths of creation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesselberg, Erik 1914 births 1972 deaths People from Porsgrunn Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian resistance members Norwegian explorers Norwegian sailors Norwegian photographers Norwegian painters Norwegian sculptors Norwegian travel writers Norwegian illustrators 20th-century Norwegian writers