Inger Sitter
Inger Sitter (1929 to 2015) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker born in Trondheim. She was a central figure in the emergence of nonfigurative art in Norway after the Second World War. Her work demonstrates how impressions of nature can become an independent pictorial language without producing a recognisable landscape.
From figuration to a freer visual language
Sitter studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Oslo and also worked in Antwerp and Paris. The exhibition history at Kunstnernes Hus shows that she could already present a substantial retrospective of her work in 1966. Her development moved from nature-based imagery towards abstraction, with influences from the international School of Paris.
In Paris she encountered Stanley William Hayter's Atelier 17. Working with intaglio printmaking became important to her development. Mountains and rock formations remained a starting point, while her forms grew freer and less descriptive. Colour gradually assumed a stronger role.
Painting and printmaking are different types of work
Granitt I from 1955 is a documented example of her printmaking. The National Museum records line etching, colour aquatint and sugar aquatint on paper. Its impression is numbered 14/25. This information concerns that particular impression and does not establish the technique or edition of other Sitter prints.
Painting is represented by Tre, vann, sten, dated approximately 1971 to 1972. The National Museum records oil on canvas and dimensions of 93 × 224 cm. These examples provide two documented points of reference within a practice encompassing both canvas and printed works on paper.
Art in public life
Sitter also undertook major commissions, including work for the government building in 1958 and S/S Norway in 1980. In 1981 she became the first woman appointed professor at the Academy of Fine Art in Oslo. Her career therefore encompassed individual pictures, public art and teaching.
Information about an individual work
When buying or selling, document the material, technique, dimensions and any edition information. An original print must be distinguished from a photographic or other reproduction of a painting. Edition numbering and a similar-looking signature do not establish authenticity on their own. Examine the paper for fading, moisture damage and evidence of previous framing, and retain receipts and other provenance records.
Read more about modernism, artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
Browse related items in our online shop.
Contact OBA about selling and assessment (Norwegian page).
