Håkon Stenstadvold (2 August 1912 – 7 October 1977) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator, journalist, art critic and politician for the Conservative Party.

Personal life

He was born in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

as a son of Christen Stenstadvold (1873–1952) and his wife Alfhild Pedersen (1887–1960). He was a brother of Karl Stenstadvold, and lived in

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

. He married Ingeborg Anvik in January 1943, and is the father of businessperson and politician

Halvor Stenstadvold Halvor Stenstadvold (born ) is a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party. A political scientist by education, he spent most of his career in the Federation of Norwegian Industries and Orkla Group. He has also been th ...

Education and career

He studied at the

Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts The Norwegian National Academy of Arts () was a former Norwegian tertiary institution in Oslo, offering studies in the area of fine art. Along with four other academies, it merged to form the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, KHiO) in 1996. ...

from 1931 to 1934 and at Academie Scandinave,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 1934 to 1935. He later conducted several study trips in Italy and France in 1938 (studying under Marcel Gromaire and Pierre Dubreuil), 1948, 1951 and 1955 to 1956. Stenstadvold was represented at the National Autumn Exhibition of 1934, and held his first own exhibit in 1938. He painted in the figurative style. The pinnacle work of his career was the illustrations of the book trilogy ''

Kristin Lavransdatter ''Kristin Lavransdatter'' is a trilogy of historical novels written by Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are ''Kransen'' (''The Wreath''), first published in 1920, ''Husfrue'' (''The Wife''), published in 1921, and ''Korset'' (''The Cross''), ...

''. He is also represented with works in the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Stenstadvold issued several books, and was a journalist in ''Bo-Nytt'' from 1942 to 1969 and an

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

in ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

'' from 1946 to 1953. He was also member of

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

from 1956 to 1959. From 1964 to 1977 he was the rector of the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design () 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), along with the Norwegian National Academy of ...

. Stenstadvold was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; 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, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1969. He died on in

. A square in Sandvika, ''Håkon Stenstadvolds plass'', has been named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenstadvold, Haakon 1912 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters 20th-century Norwegian illustrators Norwegian art critics Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in Italy Academic staff of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts Rectors of universities and colleges in Norway Bærum politicians People from Sarpsborg Conservative Party (Norway) politicians 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian journalists 20th-century Norwegian male artists