Leif Østby (2 January 1906 – 23 December 1988) was a Norwegian

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

. He was the first Conservator at the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery ( no, Nasjonalgalleriet) is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. , the admission cost is 100 Norwegian kroner. History It was establishe ...

from 1949-73.

Biography

Østby was born in

Skjeberg Skjeberg is a district of Sarpsborg, Østfold County, Norway. Skjeberg was formerly a municipality in Østfold County. The last administrative centre was at Borgenhaugen. As of 2018, Skjeberg has a population of 1,397. The parish of Skjeberg ...

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, Norway. His parents were Emil Augustinius Østby (1868-1937) and Klara Josefine Eeg (1870-1952). He graduated

artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

in 1925 and became Cand.philol. in 1933 with a history major. Østby worked as a lecturer at Vestheim 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 of ...

from 1934-46. From 1934-36, he was also engaged by Norsk Portrettarkiv, the department which collected and preserved photographs for the National Archives. From 1935-37, he was an artist at ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

''. Between 1946-47 and 1966–70, he lectured in art history at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. In 1946 he became a conservator at the

. Three years later he became the first conservator, a position he had until 1973. He also edited the journal ''

Kunst og Kultur ''Kunst og Kultur'' (meaning ''Art and Culture'' in English) is a Norwegian art historical journal founded in 1910 by Harry Fett and Haakon Shetelig. Leif Østby edited the journal from 1962 to 1980. Editor from 2018 is Bente Aass Solbakken. The ...

'' from 1962 to 1980. He published several works on the history of art and on individual artists, including Harald Sohlberg, Hjalmar Haalke,

Johan Christian Dahl Johan Christian Claussen Dahl (24 February 178814 October 1857), often known as or , was a Danish-Norwegian artist who is considered the first great romantic painter in Norway, the founder of the "golden age" of Norwegian painting, and, by some ...

, Theodor Kittelsen and Erik Werenskiold. Østby was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Sciences The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

from 1956 and was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Oslo in 1986. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

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 1973. He died during 1988 at

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

Selected works

''Norges kunsthistorie''
(1938)
''Ung norsk malerkunst''
(1949)
''Norsk tegnekunst i Nasjonalgalleriet''
(1963)
''Verdens kunsthistorie''
with

Ragna Thiis Stang Ragna Thiis Stang (15 September 1909 – 29 March 1978) was a Norwegian historian and museum administrator. Biography She was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. She was a daughter of museum director Jens Thiis and his wife Vilhelmine Don ...

(1963)
Erik Werenskiold''
(1977)
''Fridtjof Nansen som kunstner''
(1980)

References

1906 births 1988 deaths People from Sarpsborg University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian art historians Norwegian magazine editors Conservator-restorers 20th-century Norwegian historians Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal {{norway-academic-bio-stub