Sigurd Daniel Isaachsen Willoch (16 May 1903 - 20 March 1991) 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 ...

and director of the National Gallery of Norway. Sigurd Willoch
''Store norske leksikon''

Biography

He was born in Oslo, Norway. He was the son of Eivind Isaachsen Willoch (1866–1926) and Marie Wenneberg (1873–1951). He was the grandson of painter Olaf Isaachsen. He was a second cousin of both national aviation director Erik Isaachsen Willoch and Norwegian Prime Minister 1981–1986 Kåre Isaachsen Willoch. Sigurd Willoch took the mag.art. degree in 1925 from the University of Kristiania. He worked as a research fellow from 1928 to 1933, taking the doctorate in 1932. He was the art critic for the newspapers '' Aftenposten'' from 1935 to 1942 and '' Morgenbladet'' 1945–46. He wrote considerably about Norwegian art and artists dating from the 19th century, including works about artists Olaf Isaachsen,

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

, Hugo Lous Mohr (1889–1970), August Cappelen (1827–1852) and Thomas Fearnley (1802–1842). He also produced works which focused on the Art Society in Oslo and the National Gallery of Norway. He was employed as a curator at Akershus Castle in 1937 and held this position until he took over as director of the National Gallery of Norway in 1946. He was the director of the National Gallery from 1946 to 1973. He served on the National Gallery Board 1952–76, was a member and sometimes chairman of the Norwegian unit of Scandinavian Museum Association 1946–71, Norwegian member of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art (CIHA) from 1958 to 1973 and represented Norway for some years in the International Council of Museums.

Honors

He was made a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 1939 and was made a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1973.

Selected bibliography

This is a list of his most notable works: *'' Olaf Isaachsen. En overgangsskikkelse i norsk malerkunst'' (1926) *'' August Cappelen og den romantiske landskapskunst'' (1928) *''Maleren Thomas Fearnley'' (1932) *''Kunstforeningen i Oslo 1836-1936'' (1936) *''Nasjonalgalleriet gjennem hundre år'' (1937) *''

s raderinger'' (1950)

References

1903 births 1991 deaths People from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Norwegian art historians Directors of museums in Norway Norwegian newspaper journalists 20th-century Norwegian historians Order of Saint Olav {{Europe-art-historian-stub