Ross Kolby (born 7 November 1970) is a Norwegian visual artist and author. His paintings are often political and reference

classical art Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...

, historical events and debate contemporary topics. With the use of both modern and classical symbols as well as symbolic persons Kolby has worked with themes like racism, the clerical abuse of children in the Catholic Church and the

Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...

2011 Norway Attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) ...

. He also works extensively with portraits and has among others painted the three generations of Norwegian monarchs involved in the events of

WWII 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 ...

, Dame

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. His paintings have been donated to Norway's Crown Regalia Museum,

Norway's Resistance Museum Norway's Resistance Museum also known as the Norwegian Home Front Museum ( no, Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum) is a museum located at the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. The museum collection focuses on Norwegian resistance during the occupation of Norway b ...

Royal Norwegian Navy Museum The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum (Norwegian: ''Marinemuseet'') is a museum documenting the history of the Royal Norwegian Navy. It is located at the former main naval base of Karljohansvern in Horten. The museum was founded by C.F. Klinck on 24 Au ...

as well as to the Royal Albert Hall. Kolby has also published two novels, a fantasy story about the 12-year-old English boy Will O'Phillie and a historical drama from the witch processes in Northern Norway in the 1600s.

Education

Kolby is educated at Asker kunstfagskole (1991–1992),

Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the Arts ( no, Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, ''KHiO'') is a university college in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in ...

(1992–1998) and

Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma The Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma is a public tertiary academy of art in Rome, Italy. It was founded in the sixteenth century, but the present institution dates from the time of the unification of Italy and the capture of Rome by the Kingdom ...

(1995). He lived and worked in Copenhagen from 1999 to 2004, but has since then been located 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 ...

Artwork

In his works, Kolby debates themes such as racism, handicapped people's rights, environmental problems, sexual abuse of children, war and political conflict. He has several times used popes as symbols in his paintings. Kolby received death threats when he was about to exhibit his historical motif ''The murder of Pope John Paul I'' in 1997 and withdrew the artwork from the show. The canvas was subsequently exhibited the year after. Also in his works dealing with racism and catholic priests' sexual abuse of children Kolby uses a pope as the motif. In 2013 he produced and appeared in the documentary film ''And the truth shall make you free'' about the child abuse in the Catholic Church. After

’s

2011 Norway attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) ...

in Oslo and at Utoya on 22 July Kolby painted a

Yara International Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as well ...

bag of artificial fertilizer to debate extremism and the individual's responsibility of using or abusing available technology. In connection with the celebration of 70 years since the liberation from

Nazi-Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

’s occupation of Norway, Kolby in 2015 was commissioned by

Samlerhuset Samlerhuset Norge (Collector's House) is a Norwegian distributor of collectibles, mainly coins and medals, but also stamps, banknotes and philatelic numismatic covers (PNC). Samlerhuset is located in Oppegård, Norway. The company, with the full na ...

to portray Norway's three generations of monarchs attached to the events of WWII, as a gift to Norway's Resistance Museum at

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

. He painted

Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...

Olav V 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 Norw ...

and

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick ...

in a triple portrait with the title ''The Kings of the Liberation''. To the celebrations of the 25th year Consecration Jubilee of the reign of Norway's

and

Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relation ...

in 2016 Kolby was commissioned by

in 2016 make a painting as a gift the Crown Regalia Museum in the medieval

Archbishop's Palace, Trondheim The Archbishop's Palace in Trondheim (Norwegian: Erkebispegården i Trondheim) is a castle and palace in the city of Trondheim, located just south of the Nidaros Cathedral. For hundreds of years, the castle was the seat, residence and administrat ...

. He painted the King's and Queen's crowns in a motif with elements symbolizing Norwegian history. In 2019 the London Mint Office gave a portrait of Dame

to Royal Albert Hall in London. SFCKolbyPainting-0380

In connection with the celebration of 75 years since the end of WWII in 2020

Special Forces Club The Special Forces Club (SFC) is a private members' club located at 8 Herbert Crescent in Knightsbridge, London. Initially established in 1945 for former personnel of the Special Operations Executive, members of wartime resistance organisations, ...

commissioned Kolby to paint a portrait of

. The portrait was to mark the WWII bonds between Great Britain and Norway and was gifted to the

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian (Bokmål): ''Det kongelige utenriksdepartement''; Norwegian (Nynorsk): ''Det kongelege utanriksdepartement'') is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June ...

. It was presented by

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

at a ceremony in 2022 at the Norwegian Ambassador's residence in London, where it is on permanent display.

Controversy

Kolby received death threats in 1997 when about to exhibit his historical painting ''The murder of Pope John Paul I'' in Oslo and withdrew the painting from the show.https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/trekker-bilde-fra-utstilling/65418021

References

External links

* Kolby's official website
www.rosskolby.com
*''Destinies of Wars website
www.krigensskjebner.no
* NRK Radio interviewing Kolby on his Vera Lynn portrait. (In Norwegian) https://radio.nrk.no/serie/holm/DMTO01020519/15-10-2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolby, Ross 1970 births Living people 21st-century Norwegian painters Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark