Famous Norwegian Artists

Theodor Kittelsen was a Norwegian artist best remembered for his nature paintings and illustrations of legends and fairy tales, especially of trolls. Widely regarded as one of the most popular Norwegian artists of all time, Kittelsen's art has inspired the cover design of many albums released by famous folk metal and black metal bands like Empyrium, Burzum, Satyricon, and Otyg.

Odd Nerdrum is a Norwegian painter whose figurative artwork is showcased in several museums worldwide. Regarded as one of the greatest contemporary classical figurative painters, Nerdrum is credited with initiating the Kitsch movement. His artwork has inspired several other artworks including a scene from the film The Cell and a dance piece titled The Oracle by Australian choreographer Meryl Tankard.

Hans Gude was a Norwegian romanticist painter best remembered for his landscape paintings. Counted among Norway's leading landscape painters along with Johan Christian Dahl, Gude is also considered the backbone of Norwegian National Romanticism. Over the course of his illustrious career, Hans Gude won several honors and medals.

Norwegian painter Peter Nicolai Arbo is best known for his illustrations of history books and paintings of Norse mythology. The Wild Hunt and King Sverre’s Escape over Voss Mountains remain 2 of his most popular works. He also painted landscapes such as View of Frognerslot from Skovveien.

One of the earliest Skagen painters, Norwegian artist Frits Thaulow was a pioneering figure of Impressionist painting in Norway. Best remembered for his marine landscape painting, he later received the French Legion of Honor. Picquigny, Ambiance Du Soir, and Dordrecht remain some of his best-known works.

Norwegian-Zambian reggae artist Philip Boardman, also known as Admiral P, is now one of Norway’s top solo musicians. He won a Norwegian Grammy for Engel and has his own 9-piece band, The Global Citizen Band. Tracks such as Snakke litt and Kallenavn remain his best-known hits.

Per Krohg was a Norwegian artist best remembered for creating the famous UN Security Council mural. The mural has been exhibited in the United Nations headquarters since August 22, 1952. Per Krohg, who taught at the National College of Art and Design and National Art Academy, is credited with teaching artists like Tulla Blomberg Ranslet and Frithjof Tidemand-Johannessen among others.

Pola Gauguin was a Danish-Norwegian biographer, art critic, and painter. Apart from being a prolific painter, Gauguin was also the founder of his artist school in Oslo. He ran the school till 1924 and then lived through an artistic crisis during the 1920s. The crisis in him found expression through his literary works and he worked for many popular publications.

Apart from being a fine poet, Arnulf Øverland was also a talented painter. His politically motivating poems, which inspired people to join the Norwegian resistance movement and oppose Nazism, got him arrested and later sent to a concentration camp. You Must Not Sleep! remains one of his best-known works.

German-born printmaker Rolf Nesch had spent a while in British prisons for his participation in World War I and moved to Norway during the rise of the Nazis. He was one of the pioneers of the use of metal collage in printmaking and also used wood, glass, and stones in his art.

One of the first to satirize Adolf Hitler, Norwegian artist and caricaturist Olaf Gulbransson spent a major part of his career in Germany and, interestingly, also supported the Nazis. He was associated with the satirical magazine Simplicissimus and also illustrated books. He lent his name to the prestigious Olaf Gulbransson Prize.