Tone Vigeland is widely considered a pioneer within the field of art jewellery. Born in 1938 into one of Norway’s most prominent artist families, Vigeland entered Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole (today Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, the Oslo National Academy of the Arts) in 1955. In 1957 she began her goldsmith training at Oslo Yrkesskole (Oslo Vocational School) and at David Andersen’s silver workshop in Oslo. She later joined the PLUS cooperative in Fredrikstad, Norway, where some of her most popular designs were produced. In 1963 she left PLUS to focus on her own artistic practice, creating unique art works.

From 1995 onwards Vigeland has explored large-scale sculptural and spatial works, using many of the same materials we know from her art jewellery practice, including nails, stone, led, steel, silver, and piano wire.

Vigeland is represented by numerous museums in Norway and internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Cooper-Hewitt and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The National Museum of Modern Design in Tokyo, Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. In 2017 and 2018, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Norway, Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum in Munich and Norwegian Crafts collaborated on an expansive retrospective exhibition on Vigelands work titled Jewelry – Object – Sculpture.

Vigeland received Jacobprisen (the Jacob Award, awarded by Norsk Form) in 1965 and the Prince Eugen Medal in 1988. In 1996, Vigeland was was decorated Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 1996.