Astrid Noack

Collection

The sculptor Astrid Noack (1888-1954) is one of the great and unusual personalities of the 20th century in Danish art. She was born in Ribe and trained as a sculptor at Vallekilde Folk High School in 1910. In 1935, Noack became the first female member of the experimental artists cooperative Grønningen. And she was again a pioneer in 2006, albeit posthumously, as the only female artist in the Danish Cultural Canon. All of this due to Noack’s craftsmanship, uncompromisingness and artistic integrity, as well as a predilection for the art of Antiquity and medieval Gothic sculpture. These connections back in time are by Noack transformed into a pure sculpture, yet full of intensity. Authoritative but never invasive.

Human comes first 

The subject of Astrid Noack’s work is the human - often in its most characteristic position: the frontal. The discreet rotation of the body, the imperfect asymmetry of the ears, eyes and shoulders as well as the slightly displaced position of the hands or feet create a sensed tension in the figures. Noack’s techniques are so understated, so minimal that the sculptures appear all the more powerful and dignified; as almost abstract stories of the basic conditions of man, expressed through classical figuration. Astrid Noack’s contribution to the history of Danish sculpture is therefore placed in a rare, effective gap between tradition and modernity. Astrid Noack herself puts it this way: "The form must be felt from the core of the sculpture and carried outward in tight tension. No feeling or sensitive surface has any value unless it is supported by an internal structure. This is the abstraction in any sculpture, however different the form of expression".

The Study Collection

After Astrid Noack’s death in December 1954, the family founded the Astrid Noack Scholarship Foundation with the purpose of managing the artistic legacy of the sculptor. This included both the award of Astrid Noack’s scholarship to younger Danish sculptors as well as the management of the physical heritage. The scholarship is still awarded and in 2024, the foundation permanently entrusted the Study Collection 
to Holstebro Kunstmuseum.

The museum already owned 52 works by Astrid Noack; the first was acquired in 1966, the year before the museum officially opened. With the addition of 88 sculptures and 103 drawings, which make up the Astrid Noack Study Collection - as well as a large archive consisting of the artist’s book collection, a correspondence archive, workshop books and photo archive - Noack’s artistry has been given a permanent home for posterity.

A large part of the works were preserved in connection with the donation; for instance the large original plaster casts of Astrid Noack’s main work Anna Ancher (1939), which is seen in bronze on the museum’s forecourt, and Ung mand der planter et træ (Young man planting a tree) (1952), which the artist worked on for almost ten years. The sculpture Knælende dreng (Kneeling boy) (1942) - which also, like Kvinde med klæde (Woman with clothes) (1943-44), can be found in bronze versions in the urban space - was quite damaged. The process of restoring the sculpture has been documented in the film Reversibel, which can be seen in the film archive in the museum’s Glass Corner or further down on this page. The above mentioned original plaster casts are part of this presentation in the lower floor of the museum along with for instance Noack’s very last work, the unfinished Kvinde med barn (Woman with child) (1954), placed centrally in the exhibition. The exhibition also includes selected works from the Study Collection, including several of Astrid Noack’s large sculptures and preparatory works. A display case contains different archival materials from the Noack archive, showing the artist’s work processes.