Kaare Espolin Johnson

Kaare Espolin Johnson (March 7, 1907 – August 16, 1994) was a Norwegian artist and illustrator.

Life and work Espolin Johnson was born at the Vasseng farm in Surnadal Municipality. He had poor eyesight, and this technique was very well suited for his limited vision.

He debuted at the Autumn Exhibition in 1932 In addition, he decorated the Kirkenes police station (in 1964), the county hospital in Ålesund (in 1973), and the telegraph station in Sandnessjøen (in 1975).

In an interview with NRK TV in connection with the opening of the Espolin Gallery in 1992, Espolin Johnson stated that, when he looked back at his artistic work, it was the illustrations for Vett og Uvett and Bojer's Den siste viking that gave him the most pleasure. He highlighted the Baroque humor in Vett og Uvett as one of the reasons why he had enjoyed that task in particular.

Espolin Johnson received the Nordland County Culture Prize in 1990. He is represented in Norway's National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design by 39 of his artworks.

Literature A biography of Espolin Johnson was written by Arne Durban in 1979. In 1994, together with Arthur Arntzen, Espolin Johnson coauthored the book Og langsomt kom lyset (And Slowly Came the Light), which discusses Northern Norway and its art, with 22 of his own works in focus.

To mark the centenary of the birth of Espolin Johnson, in 2007 Pax Forlag issued a new and expanded edition of Bjørn Tore Pedersen's volume Kaare Espolin Johnson – Lengselens billeddikter (Kaare Espolin Johnson: The Visual Poet of Longing).

Espolin Gallery The Espolin Gallery was established in 1992 in Kabelvåg in Vågan Municipality, which received 40 to 50 of Espolin Johnson's works in 1983. The collection contains nearly 170 works.

Illustrations by Espolin Johnson Books illustrated Einar K. Aas and Peter Wessel Zapffe: Vett og uvett. 1942 (plus various new editions) Henrik Wergeland: Vesle-Hans. 1945 Hans Henrik Holm: Vårhelg i Gaukleikleiv. 1947 (with Tore Deinboll) Hans Henrik Holm: Fugl Føniks i eplehagen. 1948 (with Tore Deinboll) Øivind Bolstad: Spøkefuglen på Toska. 1955 Sigbjørn Hølmebakk: Fimbulvinteren. 1964 Olav Nordrå: Herr Petters trompet. 1964 Olav Nordrå: Jeg hilser jorden. 1965 Regine Normann: Ringelihorn og andre eventyr. 1967 Ole Barman: Draumen og andre noveller. 1968 Den fyrste song. Antologi over norske voggesongar. 1968 Hans Johan Bjørnstad: Av lofotfiskerens saga. 1970 Roar Petersen: Sånn kan det gå. 1970 Johan Bojer: Den siste viking. 1972 Hans Johan Bjørnstad: Jeg kjente et land. 1976 Ut mot hav. Nordland fylkes fiskarlag. 1977 Før oss 1. Noveller fra eldre barnelitteratur, with Sonja Hagemann. 1977 Arne Durban: Kaare Espolin Johnson. 1979 Hans Johan Bjørnstad: ... men kirkesangeren var pennefør. 1979 Før og nå. Nynorsk litteratur fra Sivle til Sagen. 1980 Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe: Det var en gang… 1981 Lofotboka. 1982 I storm og stilla. Nordland fylkes fiskarlag. 1982 Barnas beste: i gamle dager. 1983 Skolp: årbok for Vågan. 1984 Ord for andre: antologi til inntekt for de sultrammede i Etiopia. 1985 Reidar Hirsti: Grenseløse mennesker. 1987 Pomorhandelen. Einar Niemi (ed.) 1992 Årbok for Vågan. 1995 Kaare Espolin Johnson: Grafikk. 1997 Kaare Espolin Johnson and Arthur Arntzen: Og langsomt kom lyset. 1994 Kaare Espolin Johnson: Skisser og forelskelser. 2002 Bjørn Tore Pedersen: Lengselens billeddikter. 2000 Linda Lillevik: Eventyrlige Espolin: glimt fra et kunstnerliv. 2007 Å låne øyne å se med. Aaslaug Vaa (ed.). 2007 Vær hilset: Espolin i 100 år. Wenche Thorunn Nilsen. (ed.). 2007

Cover illustrations Andreas Haukland: Landeveiens folk. 1933 Helge Holst: Huset på grensen. 1933 Franz Kafka: Prosessen. 1934 Gisken Wildenway: Andrine og Kjell. 1934 Øivind Bolstad: De gyldne lenker. 1934 Sven Nilsen: Et menneske kommer til verden. 1934 John Dos Passos: Cirkus Verdensteater. 1934 Nils Johan Rud: Så stjeler vi et fattighus. 1934 Herman Lundsrud: Vi som ikke er mennesker. 1935 Bjørn Rongen: Nettenes natt. 1940 Leif Ytteren: Trollfjell. 1944 Stephen Wendt: Min elskede, husker du? 1951 Seymour Shubin: Fienden i meg selv. 1955 Emil Boysen: Gjenkjennelse. 1957 Norge i nord. Den norske turistforening. 1963 Olav Nordrå: Guds ulver. 1967 Alf Larsen: Siste strofer. 1969 Johan Bojer: Folk ved sjøen. 1977 Johan Bojer: Vår egen stamme. 1977 Per Fugelli: Bruk av legemidler på Værøy og Røst. 1978 Lofotboka. 1979 Arvid Hanssen: Søsken på Guds jord. 1981 Arvid Møller: Losen på Tranøy. 1983 Randi Folkestad: Tangsforretningen. 1985 Liv Marie Austrem: Gyda. 1995 Lars Hermansen: Exercise in Human Physiology. 1986 Olav H. Hauge: Trust Your Life to Water and Eternity. 1987 Kjell Sandvik: Sang til Finnmark. 1989. Environmental Consequences of Deep Seabed Mining. 1991 Challenges of a Changing World. 1991 Proceedings from the Northern Sea Route Expert Meeting. 1992 Tore Skoglund: Draugen, hevneren fra havet. 1992 Per Fugelli: Doktor på Værøy og Røst; Lege på Utrøst. 2006