Niels Onstad

Norwegian shipowner and art collector

Niels Onstad (26 March 1909 - 17 June 1978) was a Norwegian shipowner and art collector.[1][2]

## Biography

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Niels Onstad was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. Onstad played football for SFK Lyn in his younger days. He played as defender on the club's first-team, including a feature in the 1928 Norwegian Football Cup final.[3] [4]

In 1935, together with his brother Haakon Onstad (1901-1980), he started the shipping company, Niels Onstad Tank Rederi A / S, which later was named Niels Onstads Tankrederi with headquarters in Oslo. Haakon Onstad had entered ship owning in 1932 with the Pan Gothia but because of the uncertain financial times the ship was given Swedish registry under Rederi A/B Pagota. In 1940, during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Niels Onstad moved to New York City where he worked for the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship). Haakon Onstad relocated to Kungsbacka, Sweden, where he formed Rederi A/B Kungsoil and Rederi A/B Monacus. [5] [6] [7]

In 1956, Niels Onstad married Sonja Henie. Onstad, whose mother had been a painter, had many contacts in the Norwegian art world, including Edvard Munch. Together, Onstad and Henie established the Henie-Onstad Art Centre (Henie Onstad Kunstsenter) at Høvikodden in Bærum southwest of Oslo. [2] [8] [9] The Centre was opened in 1968, with a collection of art, and the building in which it is displayed, donated by the couple.[10]

The ship Susanne Onstad[11] was featured in the movie King Kong from 1976. The Susanne Onstad was the oil tanker that brought King Kong from Skull Island to the USA.

## References

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1. ^ Niels Onstad (St. Petersburg Times - Jun 20, 1978)
2. ^ a b Henriksen, Petter, ed. (2007). "Niels Onstad". Store norske leksikon. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
3. ^ Andersen, Alf G. (1985). Som i en drøm – Sonja Henies liv. (Schibsted. p. 146). ISBN 82-516-1041-9.
4. ^ "Norwegian cup 1928". RSSSF Norway. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
5. ^ Haakon Onstad (Rederiaktiebolaget Kungsoil, Kungsbacka, Sweden)
6. ^ Haakon Onstad (Onstad Rederierna. Red Ab Kungsoil – Red Ab Monacus)
7. ^ Audun Grimstad. "Nortraship". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
8. ^ Henie-Onstad Art Centre (Norway Cultural Profiles Project)
9. ^ Annette Faltin. "Henie Onstad Kunstsenter". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
10. ^ "About Henie Onstad". Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
11. ^ "skipshistorie". skipshistorie.net. Retrieved 17 May 2021.

## Related reading

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* Hovdenakk, Per; Susanne Rajka, Øivind Storm Bjerke (2007) Henie-Onstad kunstsenter (Oslo: Grøndahl og Dreyer) ISBN 9788250420953

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* France
* BnF data

Artists|

* RKD Artists

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