# Olaf Willums

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**Olaf Willums** (25 April 1886 – 25 February 1967) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker.[1]

## Biography

He was born in [Porsgrunn](/source/Porsgrunn_(city)) as a son of assurance director Olaf Karenius Abrahamsen (1853–1936) and Caroline Marie Halvorsen (1855–1925). In July 1915 in [Hemne Municipality](/source/Hemne_Municipality) he married painter Signy Hassel (1879-1959). In 1916 he changed his surname to Willums.[2][3]

He originally worked as an engineer, graduating from Skiensfjorden Mechanical Vocational School in 1904 and a technical college in Germany in 1907. He worked as a [turbine](/source/Turbine) constructor at *Amme Giesecke & Konegen* in [Braunschweig](/source/Braunschweig) from 1908 to 1912.

He then attended the [Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts](/source/Norwegian_National_Academy_of_Fine_Arts) where he studied under [Halfdan Strøm](/source/Halfdan_Str%C3%B8m) and [Christian Krohg](/source/Christian_Krohg) from 1912 to 1913 and the [Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry](/source/Norwegian_National_Academy_of_Craft_and_Art_Industry) under [Johan Nordhagen](/source/Johan_Nordhagen) from 1913 to 1915.[2] He was a pupil in Paris where he trained under Basil Schoukhaeff in 1927 and [André Lhote](/source/Andr%C3%A9_Lhote) in 1931. As a painter he debuted at the [Statens kunstutstilling](/source/H%C3%B8stutstillingen) in 1913, and also at the [1914 Jubilee Exhibition](/source/1914_Jubilee_Exhibition). He had separate exhibitions in Oslo, Copenhagen and London, and was later invited to exhibit in numerous cities worldwide. In addition to paintings he did [etchings](/source/Etching), [woodcuts](/source/Woodcut), [lithography](/source/Lithography) and [chalcography](/source/Chalcography).[2]

From 1919 to 1945 he was a teacher at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts.[4] He has been described as "a very popular teacher for a whole generation of Norwegian printmakers". Willums was also active in artists' organizations. He co-founded the [Association of Norwegian Printmakers](/source/Association_of_Norwegian_Printmakers) in 1919, served as vice chairman and then chairman from 1925 to 1929.[3] During the [German occupation of Norway](/source/German_occupation_of_Norway) he was a member of the Temporary Consultative Arts Council from November 1940 till 1942, and then of the Cultural Assembly (Norwegian: *Kulturtinget*) until the war's end. He was a member of the Fascist political party [Nasjonal Samling](/source/Nasjonal_Samling).[5] In 1944 he issued a book on partyfellow and painter [Søren Onsager](/source/S%C3%B8ren_Onsager).[4]

After the Second World War, he dedicated himself to painting. In 1958 he finally managed to exhibit the series of seven grand paintings, *[Draumkvædet](/source/Draumkvedet)*, on which he had worked for thirty years. The [National Gallery of Norway](/source/National_Gallery_of_Norway) owns two paintings and some woodcuts,[4] and his chalcographics were bought by [Kupferstichkabinett, Dresden](/source/Kupferstichkabinett,_Dresden), [British Museum](/source/British_Museum) and the [Victoria & Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_%26_Albert_Museum).[2] He also made several [ex libris](/source/Bookplate).[3]*Draumkvædet* is owned by [Porsgrunn](/source/Porsgrunn) municipality. He died in February 1967 in [Eidanger Municipality](/source/Eidanger_Municipality).[3]

## References

1. Oscar Thue & Sigrid Rømcke Thue (20 February 2017). ["Olaf Willums"](https://nkl.snl.no/Olaf_Willums). Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

1. Steenstrup, Hjalmar (ed.) (1930). ["Willums, Olaf"](https://runeberg.org/hvemerhvem/1930/0452.html) (in Norwegian). *[Hvem er hvem?](/source/Hvem_er_hvem%3F)*. Oslo: Aschehoug. pp. 452–453. Retrieved 2 July 2014.

1. Thue, Sigrid Rømcke. ["Olaf Willums"](http://nbl.snl.no/Olaf_Willums) (in Norwegian). *[Norsk biografisk leksikon](/source/Norsk_biografisk_leksikon)*. Helle, Knut (ed.). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2 July 2014.

1. ["Olaf Willums"](http://www.snl.no/Olaf_Willums) (in Norwegian). *[Store norske leksikon](/source/Store_norske_leksikon)*. Retrieved 2 July 2014.

1. Solhjell, Dag & Dahl, Hans Fredrik (2013). *Men viktigst er æren. Oppgjøret blant kunstnerne etter 1945* (in Norwegian). Oslo: Pax. pp. 40, 150–151. ISBN 978-82-530-3656-4.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Olaf Willums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Willums) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Willums?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.