Odd Hilt (8 March 1915 – 9 December 1986) was a Norwegian sculptor.

Biography

Hilt was born at

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

, Norway. He was the son of Christian Hilt (1888–1958) and Ragnhild Hansen (1896–1957). He was trained at the

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 ...

(''Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole'') from 1931 to 1933 and under Wilhelm Rasmussen at the

Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts The Norwegian National Academy of Arts () was a former Norwegian tertiary institution in Oslo, offering studies in the area of fine art. Along with four other academies, it merged to form the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, KHiO) in 1996. ...

(''Statens kunstakademi'') from 1933 to 1936. In 1941, he was arrested in

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 ...

and was imprisoned at the

Falstad concentration camp Falstad concentration camp ( or ) was situated in the village of Ekne in what was Skogn Municipality (now part of Levanger Municipality in Trøndelag county) in Norway. It was used mostly for political prisoners from Nazism, Nazi-occupied territor ...

outside

Levanger Levanger may refer to: Places * Levanger Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Levanger (town), a town within Levanger Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Levanger landsogn, a former municipality (1856–1962) in Trø ...

. In 1942 he escaped to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He performed several works in exile including apostle figures for the altarpiece in Malmberget Church (1944). From 1935 to 1951 he contributed to the decoration of the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

, with about forty works. Among his other sculptural works are ''Fortuna'' at

Frognerkilen Frognerkilen is a bay in the inner Oslofjord of Norway, east of the Bygdøy peninsula. Its name stems from the neighbourhood Frogner, a name which was taken from a farm. It was formerly known, with Bestumkilen, under the name of Ladegaardsfjordene ...

, ''Arkebusering'' at Falstad, ''Ved vannposten'' at

Tøyen Tøyen is a residential area in the central parts of Oslo, Norway, part of the borough of Gamle Oslo. Location There are two different stations which carry the name Tøyen. Tøyen Railway Station is located on the Gjøvik Line, while Tøyen (st ...

and several war memorials. He is represented with eight sculptures at the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery () is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally lo ...

Personal life

In 1945, he married med Guðrun Laura Briem (1918–1996). He was the father of actress Ragnhild Hilt.

Selected works

*''Arkebusering'' (1945–46)

*''Appell'' (1947–50)

Horten Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...

*''Fortuna'' (1966–73)

*''Ved vannposten'' (1977)

References

1915 births 1986 deaths People from Drammen Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Norwegian resistance members Norwegian prisoners and detainees Norwegian Marxists 20th-century Norwegian sculptors {{norway-sculptor-stub