Sandvig grew up in Romsdalen and was educated as a dentist at the University of Oslo and in Berlin. He contracted tuberculosis, and repaired to Lillehammer and put up 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 already known as Maihaugen and bought Sandvig's collection and established Sandvigske Samlinger (the Sandvig Collections), the formal name for Maihaugen in 1904. Sandvig was at first hired as unpaid curator, but was later appointed the museum's first director.
In addition to expanding significantly the museum, Sandvig also travelled extensively to promote ethnological museums, including Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa. He retired from the museum in 1949, at 87 years of age.
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Last updated on Sunday June 15, 2008 at 02:45:03 PDT (GMT -0700)
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