KJELL SANDVED

SANDVED--Kjell Bloch,

naturalist, lecturer, filmmaker, and photographer for the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History, and discoverer of the Butterfly Alphabet, died at his home in Washington, on December 20, 2015. The cause of death was dementia. He never married. He is survived by a brother and many nieces and nephews in Norway. Mr. Sandved was born October 20, 1922, in Strandebarm, in the Hardangerfjord, where his father, Alf Michael Bloch Sandved, had become the district physician. Kjell's mother loved to play the piano, instilling in him an appreciation for classical music. After taking courses in Arts and Natural History at UiO, Mr. Sandved saw a great need for a music encyclopedia. He was the publisher and author of two encyclopedias -- one on Classical Music and one on Classical Art, subsequently revised and edited for 10 different countries. The books, Musikkens Verden and Kunstens Verden, were richly illustrated, with African mahogany covers -- a worldwide success. In the spring of 1960, as a visiting researcher gathering materials for his encyclopedia of natural history at the SI, he discovered a silvery letter "F" in the delicate design of a butterfly wing. It was the beginning of his search for all letters of the alphabet on the wings of butterflies. He put aside plans for the encyclopedia, stayed in Washington, taught himself photography and customized a portable microscope and electronic camera gear. He visited more than 30 countries to discover all the letters of the alphabet on the wings of butterflies. His quest for the alphabet took him through the United States, and tropical rain forests and islands around the world. Mr. Sandved became the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History's first full-time nature photographer. He traveled the world with leading researchers for nearly three decades, capturing the beauty and diversity of nature. He started his business, Butterfly Alphabet, Inc., in 1993, after he retired from his 32- year career at the Museum of Natural History. In his posters, prints and his classic children's book, Butterfly Alphabet, Kjell Sandved has shared with the world -- particularly with children -- his unique ability to see meaning in the tiniest details. The different Butterfly Alphabets have now become the most distributed educational nature posters in the U.S. Over a million of his colorful Butterfly Alphabet posters now grace homes and schools everywhere. He co-authored nine books of nature photography -- four on butterflies, and other books on insects, shells, rain forests, leaves and bark. Kjell Sandved's Butterfly Alphabet and nature images have been displayed at the Kennedy Center and in museums around the world and have appeared in many publications including Smithsonian Magazine and National Geographic. Mr. Sandved always brightened every space he entered with his joy and enthusiasm for life, discovery and love.