Kjellaug Hølaas
Kjellaug Hølaas was a Norwegian textile artist and teacher. She was born in Kristiansand in 1906 and died in 1990.
From goldsmith training to textile art
She trained in the goldsmith class at the National College of Art and Design under Jacob Prytz from 1925 to 1930. She then worked for J. Tostrup and studied weaving in Denmark. Her own textiles included pile rugs, patterned coverlets and tapestries after her own drawings and cartoons.
Design historian Mats Linder presents documentation from Vallø Tapetfabrik's 1933 competition, in which Hølaas and Else Poulsson shared first prize. This demonstrates the breadth of her design work, which cannot be confined to one type of woven textile.
Teaching and workshop practice
Born Kjellaug Skajaa, she became central to textile education at SHKS. As head from 1948, she linked pattern drawing with practical weaving and material experiments. She also designed for Seiersborg Tekstilfabrikk and helped establish the PLUS weaving workshop in Fredrikstad, seeking connections between craft and industry.
This combination makes the allocation of roles important when describing an object. Hølaas might design a pattern, make her own work or collaborate with a workshop. The statement 'designed by Kjellaug Hølaas' does not itself establish that she personally wove the entire object. An original design drawing, an industrial textile and a handwoven execution of the same idea must be recorded separately.
Oslo City Hall: designer and weaver
The carpet in Oslo City Hall's Munch Room offers a concrete example. Store norske leksikon's documentation credits Kjellaug Hølaas with its design and Sigrun Berg with its weaving. The upholstery fabrics in the same room are associated with Else Poulsson and Husfliden's weaving workshop.
A 2013 investigation published in Oppdag Sigrun Berg describes KH woven into the City Hall carpet alongside SB. This is a particular observation made on site, rather than a museum survey of Hølaas signatures. It illustrates why several names may belong to one textile.
DOGA lists Hølaas as the 1964 Jacob Prize recipient, identifying her as a textile designer and goldsmith.
Identification, execution and condition
A pattern or initials provide a lead, but an object needs a coherent identification. Documentation for a carpet attributed to Hølaas should show both the front and the weave structure on the reverse, together with workshop marks. Earlier orders, pattern drawings and room photographs may establish whether her name refers to the design, the weaving or both. A documented pattern executed more than once should not be described as a unique artwork without evidence for that particular example.
For pile rugs, describe variations in pile, worn areas and any re-knotting separately. For flatwoven works, record visible repairs, altered edges and later hanging arrangements, which may affect dimensions and the composition's appearance. Measurements including fringe should be distinguished from the woven area. A repeated woven design, a manufactured item with a producer's label and an independent tapestry each require a precise description.
Read more and find related items
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
Browse art in our online shop.
Contact OBA about selling and assessment (Norwegian page).
Sources
- Store norske leksikon: Kjellaug Hølaas
- Norsk kunstnerleksikon: Kjellaug Hølaas
- Norsk biografisk leksikon: Kjellaug Hølaas
- Mats Linder: Foreningen Brukskunst, documentation of the 1933 Vallø competition
- Store norske leksikon: textiles in Oslo City Hall's Munch Room
- Oppdag Sigrun Berg: investigation of the Munch Room carpet, 2013
- DOGA: recipients of the Jacob Prize
