Ada Buch Polak (19 September 1914 – 25 October 2010) was a Norwegian art historian.
Biography
Andrea Buch was born in
Ljan
Ljan () is a residential neighborhood in the borough Nordstrand in Oslo, Norway. It is located in the eastern rolling hillsides of the fjord Bunnefjorden. To the south Ljanselva which begins at Lutvann has its mouth, and where it runs through Li ...
, Norway. Her father was the engineer Harald Buch (1872–1950) and her mother was the teacher Camilla Collett (1878–1973). She was a great-granddaughter of writer
Camilla Collett
Jacobine Camilla Collett (née Wergeland; 23 January 1813 – 6 March 1895) was a Norwegian writer, often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist. She was also the younger sister of Norwegian poet Henrik Wergeland, and is recognized as being ...
(1813–1895) and professor Peter Jonas Collett (1813-1851), grandniece of museum curator
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...
(1842-1913) and historian
Alf Collett
Alf Collett (8 August 1844 – 12 June 1919) was a Norwegian writer and historian.Ellisiv (1908–2001) married historian and professor
Sverre Steen
Sverre Steen (1 August 1898 – 23 June 1983) was a Norwegian historian and professor at the University of Oslo from 1938 to 1965.
He served as president of the Norwegian Historical Association from 1936 to 1947
Biography
Steen was born in ...
(1898–1983).
She finished her secondary education in 1933 and graduated from the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...
in 1940 with the thesis ''Norsk Glass 1739–1753'', and continued working with glass to take her doctorate in 1953 on the thesis ''Gammelt norsk glass''.
She spent half a year as an associate professor at the
Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design
The Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design ( no, Kunstindustrimuseet) is a museum in Oslo, Norway. Its collection includes clothing, textile, furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, and handicrafts. Since 2003, the museum has been administ ...
, and was then a curator at
West Norway Museum of Decorative Art
The West Norway Museum of Decorative Art ( no, Permanenten Vestlandske kunstindustrimuseum), also referred to as KODE 1, is located in Bergen, Norway. It was established in 1887 at the initiative of Johan Bøgh. In 1896 the museum moved into a pe ...
(''Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum'') from 1942 to 1948.
Polak spent the rest of her career as a freelance writer, in books, journals and yearbooks, magazines and newspapers. She was on a state scholarship from the early 1980s. She was a member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick Unive ...
, and was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the
Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
in 1981.
Personal life
In July 1948 she married British solicitor Alfred Laurence Polak (1900–1992), and moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...