Synopses & Reviews
Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917–2010) is regarded as "the queen of Scandinavian design". Her sphere of influence in the history of decorative art and design stretches from the Scandinavian Design period, 1945–65, to today. This book is the first comprehensive presentation of her work. An artist with an exceptionally broad scope, she designed jewelry and one-of-a-kind silver articles for her family’s long-established Oslo firm, J. Tostrup, as well as beautiful utilitarian items in enameled steel and cast iron that found their way into thousands of homes worldwide—in Scandinavia, the United States, and worldwide.
For half a century Grete Prytz Kittelsen was, along with her first husband, architect Arne Korsmo, part of the community of modernist architects and designers that included Ray and Charles Eames, Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies van der Rohe. Among her European collaborators and friends were Lis and Jørn Utzon, Alvar Aalto, and Paolo Venini. Yet her work is less familiar to the general public than the work of her Swedish, Danish, and Finnish colleagues: this book presents it to new generations and highlights her role as a central player in the history of Scandinavian design in the twentieth century.
In these pages the range of her oeuvre is displayed in brilliant color, with archival material and more than five hundred new photographs that document her stature as a hollowware designer, whose production—several hundred unique items, including bowls, dishes, plates, casseroles, and vases—was more extensive than that of any other Norwegian postwar designer, and as a jewelry artist, who produced a large and innovative range of pieces challenging the view of jewelry as mere decoration in the era of modernism.
The accompanying text features contributions by leading Norwegian design scholars, describing Grete Prytz Kittelsen’s professional career in the context of midcentury design, the many national and international exhibitions she participated in, and the collections for which she received the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale in 1954, among other awards. Collectors and historians alike will value the biographical chronology and especially the illustrated catalogue of works.
Review
"[P]rofusely and beautifully illustrated . . . . highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections." Midwest Book Review
Synopsis
Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917-2010) was an exceptionally productive enamel artist and designer. Known as the "queen of Scandinavian Design," she is considered the most influential Norwegian designer ever.
Synopsis
The objects she created--both jewelry and hollowware, such as bowls, plates, and vases--have been rediscovered by an increasing number of admirers in Scandinavia and abroad in recent years, as well as in the United States and Japan. Her work is highly regarded by design historians, experts in leading decorative art and design museums, professional craftsmen and designers, and--not least--enthusiastic collectors.
Educated at the New Bauhaus in Chicago, Kittelsen worked with such notables as Ray and Charles Eames, Jørn Utzon, and Paolo Venini. She was married to Norway's best-known modernist architect, Arne Korsmo, and collaborated with him as well. Her work was the subject of a retrospective in Norway and of a documentary film; the exhibition will travel to the Design Museum of London and to the United States and Japan.
Synopsis
Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917 2010) is the most influential Norwegian designer ever. The objects she created both jewelry and tableware such as bowls, plates, and vases have been rediscovered by a growing number of admirers in Scandinavia and abroad in recent years, as well as in the United States and Japan. Her work is highly regarded by design historians, experts in leading decorative art and design museums, professional craftsmen and designers, and not least enthusiastic collectors. Educated in Oslo and at the New Bauhaus in Chicago, Kittelsen worked with such notables as Ray and Charles Eames, Jorn Utzon, and Paolo Venini. She was married to Norway s best known modernist architect, Arne Korsmo, and collaborated with him as well. Some of her pieces will be familiar to anyone interested in modern design; this book reveals the breadth and brilliance of her oeuvre.
Synopsis
Grete Prytz Kittelsen's works are already design icons and popular collectors' items. This book situates her in the forefront of artist/craftspeople of the twentieth century.
Synopsis
Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917–2010) is regarded as "the queen of Scandinavian design." Her sphere of influence in the history of decorative art and design stretches from the Scandinavian Design period, 1945–65, to today. This book is the first comprehensive presentation of her work. An artist with an exceptionally broad scope, she designed jewelry and one-of-a-kind silver articles for her family’s long-established Oslo firm, J. Tostrup, as well as beautiful utilitarian items in enameled steel and cast iron that found their way into thousands of homes worldwide—in Scandinavia, the United States, and worldwide.
For half a century Grete Prytz Kittelsen was, along with her first husband, architect Arne Korsmo, part of the community of modernist architects and designers that included Ray and Charles Eames, Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies van der Rohe. Among her European collaborators and friends were Lis and Jørn Utzon, Alvar Aalto, and Paolo Venini. Yet her work is less familiar to the general public than the work of her Swedish, Danish, and Finnish colleagues: this book presents it to new generations and highlights her role as a central player in the history of Scandinavian design in the twentieth century.
In these pages the range of her oeuvre is displayed in brilliant color, with archival material and more than five hundred new photographs that document her stature as a hollowware designer, whose production—several hundred unique items, including bowls, dishes, plates, casseroles, and vases—was more extensive than that of any other Norwegian postwar designer, and as a jewelry artist, who produced a large and innovative range of pieces challenging the view of jewelry as mere decoration in the era of modernism.
The accompanying text features contributions by leading Norwegian design scholars, describing Grete Prytz Kittelsen’s professional career in the context of midcentury design, the many national and international exhibitions she participated in, and the collections for which she received the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale in 1954, among other awards. Collectors and historians alike will value the biographical chronology and especially the illustrated catalogue of works.
Synopsis
Grete Prytz Kittelsen’s works are already design icons and popular collectors’ items. This book situates her in the forefront of artist/craftspeople of the twentieth century.
Synopsis
Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917-2010) is regarded as "the queen of Scandinavian design." Her sphere of influence in the history of decorative art and design stretches from the Scandinavian Design period, 1945-65, to today. This book is the first comprehensive presentation of her work. An artist with an exceptionally broad scope, she designed jewelry and one-of-a-kind silver articles for her family's long-established Oslo firm, J. Tostrup, as well as beautiful utilitarian items in enameled steel and cast iron that found their way into thousands of homes worldwide--in Scandinavia, the United States, and worldwide.
About the Author
Karianne Bjellås Gilje is the head of program at the Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway.Thomas Flor is a curator and writer.Widar Halén is the director of design and decorative arts at the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design.Jan-Lauritz Opstad is the director of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Trondheim.Astrid Skjerven is a professor in the Department of Product Design at Akershus University College.