Else Marie Jakobsen (28 February 1927 – 12 December 2012) was a Norwegian

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

and

textile artist Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials use ...

Biography

Jakobsen was born and raised in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, Norway. She graduated from

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 ...

(now Oslo National Academy of the Arts) in 1951. She also studied at a Gobelin tapestry workshop at Uitgeverij In de Knipscheer in the Netherlands during 1950. She was from 1951, both a designer and an artist in the textile industries, At the same time she began to make

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

. Her debut exhibition was held at the Artists' Association (''Kunstnerforbundet'') at

Oslo 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 ...

in 1966. In addition, she was active as a speaker across Norway and in other countries as well. As a textile artist, she won the decoration competition for the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

science building (90 square meters) as well as the Erkebispegården,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

(30 square meters) and Kristiansand District Court. Else Marie Jakobsen is particularly known for her work on

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s. She made 33 altarpieces at home and abroad, including in

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and the

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. She also wove over 500 tapestries for private homes and public buildings. Jakobsen participated in exhibitions including at

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
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plus changing exhibits in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. She also participated in the Lausanne International Tapestry Biennials. For her arts, she won several prices and an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

at the MF Norwegian School of Theology. She was also made a Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

. Else Marie Jakobsen lived most of her life in Kristiansand where she also held political offices. Prior to her death in 2012, she donated a number of her works to the Vest-Agder Museum Kristiansand.

References

External links

Else Marie Jakobsen, Æresdoktorforedrag
Agder Vitenskapsakademi Årbok 2009
The Lausanne International Tapestry Biennials (1962-1995)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakobsen, Else Marie 1927 births 2012 deaths People from Kristiansand Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Norwegian tapestry artists Norwegian designers Norwegian textile designers Norwegian artists Women textile artists Politicians from Kristiansand Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal

Biography

References

Related reading

External links