Background
Nils Sæbjørn Buttedahl was born in Lier, Norway and began his career as a stage actor in 1896 at the age of twenty.
Nils Sæbjørn Buttedahl was born in Lier, Norway and began his career as a stage actor in 1896 at the age of twenty.
From 1907 to 1924 he was engaged at the Centralteatret (Central Theater) in Oslo (then known as Kristiana). He appeared in a number of stage plays by Henrik Ibsen, and appeared onstage with such eminent Norwegian actors of the era as Agnes Mowinckel and Martin Linge. Buttedahl appeared in three feature-length silent films during his career as an actor.
Two of these films, 1926"s Simen Mustrøens besynderlige opplevelser and 1927"s Den glade enke i Trangvik were directed by Harry Ivarson.
During his time as an actor, Buttedahl also began a career as a sculptor, mainly as a sculptor of busts and almost exclusively sculpted notable theater personalities. He debuted his work at the Autumn Exhibition in Oslo in 1912.
Notable works in the public collection include:
Nationaltheatret (National Theater), Oslo: busts of Jens Selmer (marble) and Ingolf Schanche (bronze, 1921)
Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery), Oslo: bust of Fredrik Wilhelm Wingar (bronze, 1923)
Oslo Theatre Museum, Oslo: busts of Kaja Eide Norena, Ingolf Schanche and Halvor Urdahl. Copenhagen Theater Museum, Copenhagen: bust of Peter Fjelstrup (alabaster, 1913)
Oslo Bymuseum (Oslo City Museum), Oslo: busts of Jens Selmer (alabaster) and Ole Thommessen (alabaster)
Drammens Faste Galleri (Drammen Fixed Gallery), Drammen: bust of Harald Otto (alabaster, 1914)
In 1926, Buttedahl emigrated to the United States and settled in San Diego, California where he died in 1960.