Rikard Magnussen

Magnussen was born on 2 April 1885 in Copenhagen, the son of bookkeeper Sophus Oscar M. (1849–1926) and Christiane Marie Weybøll (1853–1930). He completed his schooling in 1903. He was then trained as a sculptor, first for eight months under Elna Borch in 1904 and then under Stephan Sinding. He later worked on an off for Vilhelm Bissen 1913.[1]

Magnussen was a strong defender of the naturalistic style at a time when modernism came to play a still more dominant role on the art scene.

He was a member of Charlottenborg's censor committee and a board member both of Dansk Billedhugger Samfund, Kunstforeningen af 18. November and Foreningen for National Kunst, He was an art critic at København (1920–26), Nationaltidende and other newspapers. He was a member of Foreningen til Hovedstadens Forskønnelse in 1928–42 and served as its president in 1929–34.[1]

His writings included his memoirs Billedhugger-Minder (1933), monographies about Janus la Cour (1928), Carl Bloch (1931), Christian Molsted (1935), Svend Hammershøi (b. 1936) and Godfred Christensen (I-II, 1939–41) as well as I Thorvaldsens Livsanskuelse (1936) about Bertel Thorvaldsen and Søren Kierkegaard set udefra (1942). He was editor of National Kunst (1940) and Danmarks nationale Malerkunst (1941).[1]

Magnussen married royal translator Ellen Reck (6 May 1879 – 9 January 1956), a daughter of military officer and businessman Anders Borch R. (1850–1927) and Marie Johanne Jacobine Qvist (1854–1927), on 10 July 1912 in Hellerup. He was made a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1938. He died on 26 May 1948 in Copenhagen and is buried in the city's Western Cemetery.[2]

Ole Syversen Monument, Copenhagen

Emil Piper Memorial, Ltngby

• Munken og evighedsfuglen (gips, uexhibited 1908)
• Martin Luther (plaster, 1915)
• Den gode Hyrde (plaster, 1919)
• 'Pygmalion og Galathea (exhibited 1919)