Steen was born in Oslo, Norway. He was the eldest of four siblings born to Johannes Steen (1895–1983) and Jenny Charlotte Huseby (1895–1976).
As a young child, he suffered from tuberculosis before he underwent major lung surgery in 1951. He entered the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry (Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole) in 1944 and the following year at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts (Statens kunstakademi). His teachers included Stinius Fredriksen and Danish sculptor Per Palle Storm.[3]
Steen is often associated with his work on the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts in conjunction with the Per Palle Storm. Perhaps his most notable and commonly recognized work is his Whaler’s Monument (Hvalfangstmonumentet), a rotating bronze statue located by the harbor in Sandefjord, Norway. The monument depicting four stylized figures of whalers with oars in an open boat was first unveiled in 1960.
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In 2000, he was commissioned to create a statue of King Olav V of Norway, which became the subject of great controversy. At a cost of NOK 2 million (US$317,000), Steen based his statue on a photo of the king in military garb and depicted him in a serious pose with his right arm raised. This drew the ire of critics, who compared it with similar statues of dictators. Eventually, the Oslo City Council rejected the work and the statue was later installed in Gulen.
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Whaler’s Monument (Hvalfangstmonumentet) at Sandefjord
Steen lived and worked in Pietrasanta, Italy, in 1973. He died at Sandefjord in September 2011. The Knut Steen Foundation (Knut Steens Venneforening) has fostered the development of the Knut Steens Pavilion at Midtasen Sculpture Park in Sandefjord which features works of Steen in marble and bronze. The foundation has also made his studio in Pietrasanta open for public viewing.
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Selected works
Monument to Fredrik Paasche, University Garden, Oslo, 1950
Monument to Rudolf Nilsen, Rudolf Nilsens plass, Oslo, 1953
