Johan Henrik Langaard

Personal

Vocation

Notable

Norwegian museologist and art historian known for being head of the art collections of the city of Oslo from 1946 to 1965. He studied art history in France, Germany, and Italy, and worked as an art critic at several Norwegian newspapers. His father was an art collector and when he died in 1922 his collection of art was handed over to the National Gallery in Oslo where Langaard in 1929 became an assistant to director Jens Thiis. When Thiis died in 1942, Langaard became temporary director, 1945-1946, before he took over as head of the Oslo city art collections in 1946. He was responsible for the establishing of the Munch Museum, which opened in 1963. When Langaard retired in 1965, he was succeeded by Ragna Stang, Jens Thiis' daughter. As a pensioner he spent most of his time in Florence, Italy. In 1963 he was appointed Knight 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. Langaard died on 22 September 1988 in Oslo, Norway, at the age of 89. https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Henrik_Langaard