Peter Martin Anker (22 August 1927 – 22 December 2012) was a Norwegian museum director, art historian and critic.

Personal life

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

as a son of chief physician Herman Anker (1901–1970) and Charlotte Amalie Meyer (1897–1985). He was married to Liv Løberg (1932–1986), but the marriage was dissolved. From October 1973 he was married to Inger Kiær, a daughter of Herman L. Løvenskiold, but that marriage was dissolved too. In April 1987 he married his third wife, Inger-Johanne Brautaset.

Career

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education at

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School (Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Loc ...

in 1946. He enrolled 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 The Oslo National Academy of the A ...

, and then in

art history 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 ...

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 1948. He took the

mag.art. A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the ...

degree (PhD equivalent) 1954 with a thesis about the

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

s in

Sant'Angelo in Formis Sant'Angelo in Formis is an abbey in the municipality of Capua in southern Italy. The church, dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, lies on the western slopes of Monte Tifata. History The church was once referred to as ''ad arcum Dianae'' ("ne ...

. He worked for Landslaget Kunst i Skolen from 1954 to 1957, as a curator for the

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large open- ...

from 1958 to 1965 and director of Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum from 1965 to 1994. He was a lecturer at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

from 1971. Books include ''L'Art Scandinave'' (volume 1, 1969), ''Norsk middelalderkunst'' (1970, with István Rácz), ''Norsk folkekunst'' (1975, with István Rácz) and ''Folkekunst i Norge'' (1975). He participated in the editorial committee for the seven-volume work ''Norges kunsthistorie'', released in 1983. He was also an art critic. He published his first criticism before finishing secondary school, and via the Academy of Craft and Art Industry newspaper ''Acantus'' he wrote in national outlets such as ''Kunsten i dag'' and ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

''. From 1961 to 1965 he worked part-time as an art critic in ''

Arbeiderbladet ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Peter 1927 births 2012 deaths Curators from Bergen People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School University of Oslo alumni Norwegian art historians Norwegian art critics Directors of museums in Norway Academic staff of the University of Bergen