Ragnhild Butenschøn, née Jakhelln (21 September 1912 – 3 September 1992) was a Norwegian sculptor. She was especially known for her church art.

Personal life

She was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo), Norway, She was a daughter of major Alf Jakhelln (1883–1947) and Agnes Prebensen (1884–1923). After he mother's death when she was eleven, she was raised by an uncle and aunt in

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. Østerdalen is often subdivide ...

. She was trained in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Vilmos Aba-Novák Vilmos Aba-Novák (, until 1912: ; March 15, 1894 – September 29, 1941"Aba Novák, Vilmos."
''Encyclop ...

in 1934 and at 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 ...

(''Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole'') by Wilhelm Rasmussen. She also took a summer course with

Per Palle Storm Per Palle Storm (1 December 1910 – 6 January 1994) was a Danish-born Norwegian sculptor and professor at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts. Biography He was born in Copenhagen and was raised in Argentina. He was the son of Hans Pe ...

. In 1936 she married publisher Barthold A. Butenschøn with whom she had five children. She was a daughter-in-law of Barthold A. Butenschøn, Sr., and the mother of Hans Barthold Butenschøn, Peter Butenschøn and Nils Butenschøn.

Career

Her sculptures include the bronze fountain ''Dansende jenter'' at

Slemmestad Slemmestad is a village in Røyken in Asker (municipality), Asker municipality in Akershus, Norway. Slemmestad is located on the west bank of the Oslofjord, west of Oslo. History Historically Slemmestad was located on the old highway runn ...

from 1958, the bronze sculpture ''Rosepiken'' in

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

from 1971, and the steel sculpture ''Flyktningemor'' at Riksgalleriet from 1971. Her bronze in St. Mary-le-Bow Church in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is a memorial to the fallen in the Norwegian resistance movement during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The artwork featuring

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a huma ...

was unveiled by King

Olav V of Norway Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of ...

in 1966. She also delivered decorations to several Norwegian churches, including

Hamar Cathedral Hamar Cathedral () is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Hamar within the Church of Norway. The cathedral is located in the town of Hamar which is in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is one of the churches for the Hamar parish ...

and Fredrikstad Cathedral as well as at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

in Oslo. She was awarded the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in 1985. She died during 1992 at

Ytre Enebakk Ytre Enebakk is a village and a forest and farming village in the municipality Enebakk in Akershus. The village has 3,359 inhabitants as of 1 January 2009, and is located 10 kilometers southwest of the municipal center of Kirkebygda and 30 kilomete ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

, Norway.

Selected works

* ''Altertavle'' (1953) Helgøya kapell,

Ringsaker Ringsaker () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Br ...

* ''Frans av Assisi preker for fuglene'' (1955)

St. Hallvard's Church and Monastery St. Hallvard's Church and Monastery () on Enerhaugen in Oslo, Norway, not far from the former medieval St. Hallvard's Cathedral, is the location of the largest current parish in the Catholic Church, parish of the Catholic Church in Norway. The Cat ...

, Oslo * ''Dansende jenter'' (1958)

* ''St. Olav til hest'' (1964) Olav Chapel,

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

* ''Monument over Henrik Sørensen'' (1968)

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

* ''Maria bebudelse'' (1975) Torshov Church, Oslo * ''Livets tr'' (1979) Asker Church in

* ''Hellig Olav'' (1984) St. Olav's Cathedral, Oslo * ''St. Dominikus'' (1988) Lunden kloster, Oslo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butenschoen, Ragnhild 1912 births 1992 deaths People from Østerdalen Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Artists from Oslo Norwegian women artists 20th-century Norwegian sculptors 20th-century Norwegian women sculptors