Helen Engelstad (27 May 1908 – 5 March 1989) 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 the ...

author, art historian and educator.

Biography

Helen Wright was born in Elsinore,

Helsingør Municipality Helsingør Municipality (a variant English name: Elsinore Municipality; Danish: ''Helsingør Kommune''), is a municipality in the Capital Region on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Her childhood was characterized by prosperity and contact with the intellectual community. She continued her education at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

. She later worked at the

Danish Museum of Art & Design The Designmuseum Denmark () is a museum in Copenhagen for Danish and international design and crafts. It features works of famous Danish designers like Arne Jacobsen, Jacob Jensen and Kaare Klint, who was one of the two architects who remodeled ...

at the University for two years. She moved to Norway in 1930 when she married Norwegian art historian

Eivind Stenersen Engelstad Eivind Stenersen Engelstad (21 June 1900 – 16 February 1969) was a Norwegian archaeologist and art historian. Personal life Engelstad was born in Kristiania as the son of jurist Bjarne Engelstad (1872–1939) and grandson of engineer Jess ...

(1900-1969). Their marriage was dissolved in 1951. Helen Engelstad first worked as an assistant at the

Stavanger Museum Stavanger Museum is a museum of natural and cultural history established in 1877, located in the Norwegian city Stavanger. The museum's collections consist of several departments: the department of zoology, the department for cultural history (wh ...

. From 1946 to 1947 she was the manager of the museum at the

Royal Manor The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Ledaal Ledaal is a manor house which is the official residence for the King of Norway in Stavanger, Norway. History The manor house was built between 1799 and 1803. It was then owned by the merchant and leading citizen in Stavanger, Gabriel Schanche K ...

. From 1947 to 1976 she was the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the National Arts and Crafts Teacher's College, an entity now a part of the

Oslo University College Oslo University College ( no, Høgskolen i Oslo; HiO) was the largest state university college in Norway from 1994 to 2011, with more than 18,000 students and approximately 1800 employees.

.''Royal Manor of Ledaal'' (Stavanger Museum)
Helen Engelstad was appointed Knight of the 1st class

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; 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 ...

in 1975 and also received King's Medal of Merit in gold.

Selected works

*''Strikkeboken: praktisk veiledning i moderne strikning'', 1932 *''Norske navneduker'', 1938 *''Messeklær og alterskrud. Middelalderske paramenter i Norge'', 1941 *''Porselen og paramenter. Brukskunstneren Nora Gulbrandsens arbeider'', 1944 *''Alle tiders drakt og mote'', 1949 *''Vevkunst'', 1953 *''Dobbeltvev i Norge'', 1958 *''Vævninger fra det gamle Peru'', 1985

References

Other sources

*Engelstad, Helen (1952) ''Norwegian Textiles'' (F Lewis, Publishers. Leigh-On-Sea, UK) 1908 births 1989 deaths Norwegian art historians Rectors of universities and colleges in Norway Women heads of universities and colleges Danish emigrants to Norway 20th-century Norwegian historians University of Copenhagen alumni 20th-century Norwegian women writers Norwegian women historians Women art historians {{Europe-art-historian-stub