Per Lasson Krohg (18 June 1889 – 3 March 1965) was a Norwegian visual artist and teacher. He is best known for the mural he created for the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

Chamber, located in the

United Nations headquarters The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on of grounds in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It borders First Avenue (Manhattan), First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd ...

in New York City.

Biography

Per Krohg was born in

Åsgårdstrand Åsgårdstrand (historically spelled ''Aasgaardstrand'') is a small port List of towns and cities in Norway, town in both Horten Municipality, Horten and Tønsberg Municipality, Tønsberg municipalities in Vestfold county, Norway. The town is loc ...

, Norway, the son of painters

Christian Krohg Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...

and

Oda Krohg Oda Krohg (born Othilia Pauline Christine Lasson; 11 June 1860 – 19 October 1935) was a Norwegian painter, and the wife of her teacher and colleague Christian Krohg. Biography She was the second daughter of public attorney Christian ...

. The family lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where Per Krohg grew up. He showed artistic talent early, and studied first with his father (from 1903 to 1907), then with

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

(from 1909 to 1910) at

Académie Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...

. In the early years he worked as a newspaper illustrator, and taught

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

in Paris. While in Paris, he was also the instructor of future architect Maja Melandsø. Krohg's work as an artist covered a wide field, from paper drawings, illustrations, and posters to set design, sculpture, and monumental paintings. After returning to Norway in 1930 he taught at the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of t ...

in Oslo. During

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 was a forced laborer at the Veidal Prison Camp. In 1946 he was appointed professor at the National Art Academy, and served as its director from 1955 to 1958. Among others, his students included artists

Frithjof Tidemand-Johannessen Carl Frithjof Tidemand-Johannessen (11 September 1916 – 9 October 1958) was a Norwegian designer, illustrator, writer, author, and Handicraft, craftsman. He is best known today for his woodcut prints and for the decorative works on th ...

and Tulla Blomberg Ranslet. UN security council 2005

Krohg created the murals for the

Chamber, located in the United Nations building in New York City. He adorned many other public buildings with large

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es, including the Physics and Chemistry Buildings at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

and the

Oslo City Hall Oslo City Hall () is a municipal building in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It houses the city council, the city's administration and various other municipal organisations. The building as it stands today was constructed between 1931 and 1950, wi ...

. He is represented with six works in the collection at the

National Gallery of Denmark National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. In 1950 he received the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold, and 1955 he was appointed Commander 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 ...

. From 1936 he was a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and in 1948 he was awarded the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal () is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthday of his brother Prince ...

Personal life

He was married twice. In 1915 he married artist Cécile Marie ("Lucy") Vidil (1891–1977). Their marriage was dissolved in 1934. He was the father of Norwegian artist Guy Krohg (1917–2002), from his first marriage. His second marriage was in 1934, to Ragnhild Helene Andersen (1908–1972).

References

Other sources

*Nergaard, Trygve ''Bilder av Per Krohg'' (Aschehoug. 2000) *Hölaas, O. ''Per Krohg. A retrospective loan exhibition of oil paintings'' (New York: Galerie St. Etienne, 1954) *Langaard, Johan ''Per Krohg'' (Glendendal Norsk Forlat. 1931)

External links

Security Council Chamber paintingFamily genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krohg, Per 1889 births 1965 deaths 20th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian painters Order of Saint Olav People from Horten Norwegian male painters Norwegian muralists Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal