Emma Christine Matthiasen (born 2 November 1890 in Kristiania, died 8 May 1975 in Copenhagen) was a Norwegian-Danish sculptor. She spent a lot of time in Denmark, and was therefore influenced by the Danish contemporary art of her time. The Danish influence was emphasised in contemporary reviews of her artistic work. Matthiasen became a recognised […]
Emma Christine Matthiasen (born 2 November 1890 in Kristiania, died 8 May 1975 in Copenhagen) was a Norwegian-Danish sculptor.
She spent a lot of time in Denmark, and was therefore influenced by the Danish contemporary art of her time. The Danish influence was emphasised in contemporary reviews of her artistic work.
Matthiasen became a recognised artist who received a number of public and private decorating commissions. She modelled a bronze medal commemorating the geologist Waldemar Christopher Brøgger's 80th birthday in 1931.[12] She was one of the artists selected to decorate the new town hall in a competition held in 1937-1938. In 1945, Matthiasen's bust of architect Arnstein Arneberg was unveiled in Oslo City Hall.[13][14] Later, she was commissioned to design 17 small bronze reliefs for the ceiling of the City Hall's south balcony. These reliefs were in place by 1950 and depict mermaids, mermen, birds and fish.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Emma Matthiasen was hired by Åsmund S. Lærdal to model play dolls for his company in Stavanger. Lærdal was quality-conscious and brought in several other prominent artists to design various products for his company, which started out as a publishing house, then became a toy manufacturer before ending up as a developer and manufacturer of lifesaving equipment.
Sculpture in bronze, original. Gift to Kongsvinger municipality from Vinger Sparebank.
Norsk