Per Kirkeby (1 September 1938 – 9 May 2018) was a Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor. His works have been exhibited worldwide and are represented in many important public collections, including the Tate, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the Centre Pompidou. Kirkeby became a member of the Danish Academy in 1982. In 1990 he received the Art Prize of NORD/LB, which is endowed for outstanding efforts in the subject of contemporary art. In 1996 he received the Coutts Contemporary Art Foundation Award and the Henrik Steffens Award. In 1997 he became a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog and in 2003 he received the Herbert Boeckl Prize for his lifetime of work. Career In 1957, Kirkeby began studying natural history at the University of Copenhagen. As a research assistant, he went on several trips to Greenland, in 1958, 1959, and 1960. In 1962, he began studying at the Experimental Art School in Copenhagen (). During his time there, worked with a variety of mediums, including: painting, graphic arts, 8 millimeter films and performance pieces. By the time Kirkeby completed a masters degree in arctic geology at the University of Copenhagen in 1964, he was already part of the important experimental art school "eks-skolen." His interest in geology and other aspects of the natural world was fundamental to and characteristic of his art. Kirkeby went on to work as a painter, sculptor, writer, and printmaker. His works were exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1976, 1980, 1993, 1997, and 2005. In addition, he worked with theatre productions, designing the set for the New York City Ballet's 1999 production of Swan Lake, and the set and costumes for their 2007 production of Romeo and Juliet. In 1977, he published Fliegende Blätter. He published a book of essays on the works of Delacroix, Manet, Picasso in 1988. Kirkeby taught as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe beginning in 1978, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (1978–1989) and at Städelschule in Frankfurt (1989–2000). Personal life Per Kirkeby was born 1 September 1938 in Copenhagen to Alfred Kirkeby Christensen and Lucy Helga Alice Nisbeth Bertelsen. His father Alfred was and engineer and he spent his childhood between Bispebjerg and Husum. In his adult life, Kirkeby lived and worked between Hellerup, Læsø, Frankfurt am Main and Italy. In 1979, he married film producer Vibeke Windeløv. The next