Nora Gulbrandsen (1894 - 1978) Norwegian Designer

Biography

She was born to Aksel Julius Hanssen and Anna Sofie Lund in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. From 1917 until 1922, she was married to wholesaler Carl Ziegler Gulbrandsen (1892–1976). She married Otto Delphin Amundsen, an engineer and genealogist, in 1943.

From 1923 to 1927, she attended the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry (Statens Hndverks- og Kunstindustriskole). She worked as a designer at Porsgrunds Porselnsfabrik after graduating. From 1928 through 1946, Gulbrandsen was the creative director of Porsgrund. She designed numerous successful porcelain collections for the business between 1928 and 1940. She has been conducting a pottery workshop in Oslo since 1946.

During her time at Porsgrund, Gulbrandsen created over 300 different designs and models. Her cubistic forms and unconventional colour choices, typically juxtaposing brilliant to dark, were influenced by Art Deco. Porsgrunn City Museum (Porselensmuseet) has a collection of her work on exhibit.

Her work was displayed in the Norwegian Society of Arts and Crafts exhibition in Bergen in 1927.