Knut Steen (19 November 1924 – 22 September 2011) 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 Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Steen lived in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

for most of his life and dedicated works such as the Whaler's Monument to the city. Many of his sculptures may also be seen at Midtåsen Sculpture Park, a park dedicated to Steen at the former villa of Anders Jahre in Sandefjord.

Biography

Steen was born in

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 ...

, Norway. He was the eldest of four siblings born to Johannes Steen (1895–1983) and Jenny Charlotte Huseby (1895–1976). As a young child, he suffered from tuberculosis before he underwent major lung surgery in 1951. He entered 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'') in 1944 and the following year at the

Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts The Norwegian National Academy of Arts ( no, Statens kunstakademi) is a Norwegian Academy offering studies in the area of Fine Art. The Academy currently offers 3-year bachelor and 2-year MA programmes. The "Norwegian National Academy of the Arts" ...

(''Statens kunstakademi''). His teachers included Stinius Fredriksen and Danish sculptor Per Palle Storm. Steen is often associated with his work on the

in conjunction with the Per Palle Storm. Perhaps his most notable and commonly recognized work is his ''Whaler’s Monument'' (''Hvalfangstmonumentet''), a rotating bronze statue located by the harbor in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The monument depicting four stylized figures of whalers with oars in an open boat was first unveiled in 1960. In 2000, he was commissioned to create a statue of King

Olav V of Norway 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 Nor ...

, which became the subject of great controversy. At a cost of NOK 2 million (US$317,000), Steen based his statue on a photo of the king in military garb and depicted him in a serious pose with his right arm raised. This drew the ire of critics, who compared it with similar statues of dictators. Eventually, the

Oslo City Council The Politics and government of Oslo reflects that Oslo is the capital of Norway, and as such is the seat of Norway's national government. Most government offices, including that of the Prime Minister, are gathered at ''Regjeringskvartalet'', a c ...

rejected the work and the statue was later installed in

Gulen is a municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Eivindvik. Other villages in Gulen include Brekke, Byrkne ...

. Steen lived and worked in

Pietrasanta Pietrasanta is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of northern Tuscany in Italy, in the province of Lucca. Pietrasanta is part of Versilia, on the last foothills of the Apuan Alps, about north of Pisa. The town is located off the coast, where the ...

, Italy from 1973. He died at Sandefjord in September 2011. The Knut Steen Foundation (''Knut Steens Venneforening'') has fostered development of the Knut Steens Pavilion at Midtasen Sculpture Park in Sandefjord which features works of Steen in marble and bronze. The foundation has also made his studio in Pietrasanta open for public viewing. Atle Jørstad and Camilla Bjørn
Billedhoggeren Knut Steen er død
tv2.no dated 22 September 2011

Selected works

*''Monument to Fredrik Paasche'', University Garden, Oslo, 1950 *''Monument to Rudolf Nilsen'', Rudolf Nilsens plass, Oslo, 1953 *'' Whaler's Monument '', Sandefjord, 1960 * ''Landscape Pan'', Gjøvik 1966 *''Nike'', Tromsø Maskinistskole, Tromsø, 1967 *''Revival history'', Hønefoss 1979 *''Aurora and Sapfo'', Concert Hall, Oslo, 1981 *''Aurora'', Government Building, Oslo, 1982 *''Fantastico'', Sandvika 1985 *''Drømmersken'', marble, Ekebergparken, Oslo, 1992 *'' Olav Kyrre'', Bergen 1998 * ''King Olav 5'', granite, 2006

References

External links

Knut Steens Venneforening Official siteThe Whaling Monument
(Visit Sandefjord) {{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, Knut 1924 births 2011 deaths Artists from Oslo Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni 20th-century Norwegian sculptors Norwegian expatriates in Italy