Nationality Norwegian Education University of Oslo Died 1950, Lillehammer, Norway | Name Anders Sandvig Employer Repton School Known for Maihaugen | |
 | ||
Occupation Dentist, museum founder | ||
Anders Sandvig (11 May 1862 – 11 February 1950) was a Norwegian dentist most noted for having founded Maihaugen, an innovative regional ethnological and architectural museum in Lillehammer, documenting the vernacular architecture of Gudbrandsdalen.
Career
Sandvig was born in 1862, grew up in Romsdal and was trained as a dentist at the University of Oslo and in Berlin. He contracted tuberculosis, and retired to Lillehammer and started a dentist practice there in the hopes of recovering, which he did. On a travel to Skjåk in 1894, he came to the realization that Norwegian farmers had not yet begun to appreciate their cultural heritage. He acquired his first house, a dwelling house built in 1764 that had previously been described by Eilert Sundt. It was known as Lykrestua and Sandvig set it up in his backyard. Over time, his collection grew to six houses and several other objects.
The city of Lillehammer set aside an area known as Maihaugen and bought Sandvig's collection and established De Sandvigske Samlinger (the Sandvig Collections) here in 1904. Sandvig was at first hired as unpaid curator, but was later appointed the museum's first director.
In addition to expanding the museum significantly, Sandvig also travelled extensively to promote ethnological museums, including Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa. He retired from the museum in 1947, at 85 years of age.