Anne Grimdalen was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 sculptor. She was born on the mountain farm Grimdalen in Skafså

Skafså

Skafså is a parish in southern part of the municipality Tokke in Telemark, Norway. The Skafså Church was consecrated in 1839. The mountain farm Grimdalen, today a museum , has farm buildings from the time of barter economy in the 17th century. Nearby is a collection of around 300 of Anne...

, Telemark

Telemark

is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

, and later also lived and worked in the so-called Kunstnerdalen in Asker

Asker

Asker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Viken traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Asker. The municipality is a suburb of Oslo, the national capital...

. She worked mainly with granite, and also bronze. She is represented at the National Gallery of Norway

National Gallery of Norway

The National Gallery of Norway is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.-History:...

, and was one of the main contributors to the decorations of Oslo City Hall

Oslo City Hall

Oslo City Hall houses the city council, city administration, and art studios and galleries. The construction started in 1931, but was paused by the outbreak of World War II, before the official inauguration in 1950. Its characteristic architecture, artworks and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, held...

.

Education

Grimdalen studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry

The Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry was established in 1818.In 1996 the National Academy of Craft and Art Industry became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts .-Noted alumni:-External links:*...

 from 1923 to 1926, at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts

Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts

The Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts is a Norwegian university offering studies in the areas of specialization painting, photography / video / film, digital art, sound art, sculpture, installation, performance art, and art theory.-History:...

 (1927–1929) under Wilhelm Rasmussen, and in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 under Einar Utzon-Frank

Einar Utzon-Frank

Aksel Einar Utzon-Frank was a Danish sculptor and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. During his lifetime, he produced a large number of sculptures, many of which stand as public monuments...

. She made study travels to Italy (1933–34), Greece (1935), Paris and Italy (1938), and London (1947). Two of her inspirators were the painters Henrik Sørensen

Henrik Sørensen

-Personal life:Sørensen was born in Fryksände in Sweden as a son of Severin Sørensen and Helene Høibraaten. He was married to Gudrun Klewe, and is father of physicist Sven Oluf Sørensen.-Painting career:...

 and Otto Valstad

Otto Valstad

Otto Valstad was a Norwegian painter, book illustrator and children's writer. He was born in Asker, and was married to Tilla Valstad. Their home in Hvalstad was a cultural centre, and has later been made into a museum, a part of Asker Museum...

.

Museum

The art museum Grimdalstunet was later built at her home farm Grimdalen in Skafså (now within Tokke

Tokke

Tokke is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. The municipality of Tokke was created on 1 January 1964 upon the merger of the two older municipalities of Lårdal and Mo...

 municipality), and contains a collection of more than 250 of her sculptures. The mountain farm itself is also a museum, with buildings from the time of barter economy in the 17th century.

Works

Grimdalen is especially known for her many animal sculptures, made in a simplistic style, often in granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

, such as Gaupe (Lynx, 1928), Bjørn (Bear, 1933). She made several contributions to the decoration of Oslo City Hall

Oslo City Hall

Oslo City Hall houses the city council, city administration, and art studios and galleries. The construction started in 1931, but was paused by the outbreak of World War II, before the official inauguration in 1950. Its characteristic architecture, artworks and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, held...

, after surprisingly winning the decoration contest in 1938, such as Tømmerfløtere (Log drivers) and Dyrefontene (Animal fountain), and the large equestrian statue of Harald III on the west wall (1938–1950). A relief of psalmist Magnus Brostrup Landstad

Magnus Brostrup Landstad

Magnus Brostrup Landstad was a Norwegian minister, psalmist and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads in 1853...

 (1951) is placed outside the church of Seljord

Seljord

Seljord is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord...

.

Later works are the monuments of Anders Hovden

Anders Hovden

Anders Hovden was a Norwegian hymnwriter, priest, author and popular speaker.-Education and career:...

 (1958, Ørsta

Ørsta

is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta...

), Audun Hugleiksson

Audun Hugleiksson

Audun Hugleiksson was a Norwegian nobleman at the end of the 13th century. He was the king's right hand, both under King Magnus Lagabøte and King Eirik Magnusson, and was seen as an important politician and lawman in his time. He played a central role in reforming the Norwegian law system...

 (1959, Jølster

Jølster

Jølster is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Skei...

) and Håkon den Gode (1961, Fitjar

Fitjar

Fitjar is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. The municipality covers the northern part of the island of Stord and surrounding islands, while the municipality of Stord covers the southern part of the island.-History:...

). She is represented at the National Gallery of Norway

National Gallery of Norway

The National Gallery of Norway is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.-History:...

(Jenta på hesten, Riding girl, bronze, 1931).