Nikolai Astrup

A compelling introduction to the life and artistic output of a trailblazing Norwegian painter, printmaker, and horticulturist

Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928) was a highly individual Norwegian Modernist artist known for intensely coloured paintings and woodcuts of his native landscape. Astrup received a formal art education in Kristiania (now Oslo), Germany, and Paris, but he later rebelled against certain aspects of his training, such as the traditional conventions of optical perspective.

He rejected metropolitan cultural centres in favour of his rural childhood home in western Norway, where he produced a remarkable body of work. This volume brings Astrup’s life and work to a North American audience, situating him within the history and culture of Norway and late 19th- and early 20th-century art. Astrup’s horticultural achievements in the service of his art on the farm where he lived are also explored.

The book’s beautiful illustrations highlight the intensity of Astrup’s palette, the innovative nature of his prints, and the magical realism of his landscapes steeped in folklore and local customs.

Distributed for the Clark Art Institute in cooperation with KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes, Bergen, Savings Bank Foundation DNB, and Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde

Exhibition Schedule:

Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA
(June 19–September 19, 2021)

KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes, Bergen
(October 15, 2021–January 23, 2022)

Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde, Stockholm
(February 19–May 29, 2022)