Bodil Cappelen

Bodil Cappelen (born April 26, 1930) is a Norwegian painter, textile artist, and book illustrator. She has also written children's books.

Early life Cappelen was born in Stavanger, the daughter of Johan Munthe Cappelen from Oslo and Edith Heiberg from Leikanger Municipality. Her father was a judge and was known for his dissenting opinion in the acquittal of Police Chief Knut Rød after the Second World War. Bodil grew up with two sisters: Lotte Cappelen Thiis and Eli Heiberg. She attended the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry from 1948 to 1951.

Life and work Cappelen's first marriage was to the author and painter Finn Strømsted. The couple had two children, Aili Strømsted and Rune Cappelen Strømsted. From 1975 to 1994, Cappelen first lived with and then married the poet Olav H. Hauge in Ulvik Municipality in Hardanger. They were married on January 27, 1978. From 1977 to 1997 Cappelen was supported by a government guaranteed income for artists.

In the 1970s Cappelen had many solo exhibitions of tapestries, and between 1968 and 1982 she also participated many times in the Southern Norway Exhibition , the Western Norway Exhibition , and the Autumn Exhibition with tapestries.

After her last solo exhibition at the Artists' House gallery in 1981, Cappelen decided to illustrate children's books. She has illustrated five books for the Sami publisher Davvi Girji in Karasjok Municipality, with two of them featuring her own text.

Bodil Cappelen cites Eugène Delacroix's saying as her own motto: “The first merit of a painting is to be a feast for the eye.”

Cappelen is a member of the Norwegian Visual Artists Association (, NBK) and the Association of Norwegian Painters (, KNM). Cappelen's art has been purchased by the Bergen Art Gallery , the Norwegian Arts Council, and several public buildings.

Solo exhibitions 1972: Young Artists Society, tapestry 1981: Bergen Art Society, tapestry 1981: Faorese Art Society , Faroe Islands, tapestry 1981: Artists House, Oslo, tapestry 1991: Nota Bene Gallery, Oslo, paintings 1992: Kolibri Hallery, Haugesund, paintings 1992: Hardanger Folk Museum, paintings 1997: Hjadlane Gallery, Osa, paintings 2000: Gallery X, Son, paintings 2003: Næs Iron Works Museum, Ti malerier av ovnsplatemotiver fra 1600-tallet (Ten Paintings of Spark Screen Designs from the 1600s) 2004: Moss Town and Industry Museum. Vintervarme. Fra jernverk til kunstverk (Winter Heat: From Iron Works to Artworks) 2006: Tromsø Museum, 70 illustrations from Sami children's books

Awards 2012: Anvil Award