He was born in
Oppdal Municipality in
Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. He was the son of Marit Vekve (1899–1987) and Hans Donali (1898–1991). He studied at art school in
Trondheim from 1948 to 1950 where his teachers included
Kristofer Leirdal. He attended the
Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts from 1950 to 1953 where he studied under
Per Palle Storm. From 1953 to 1954, he was enrolled at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts studying under
Einar Utzon-Frank and
Mogens Bøggild. He made his debut at the
Autumn Exhibition in 1953 with a
bust. From 1953 to 1954 he stayed in Copenhagen, where he studied at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under
Einar Utzon-Frank and
Mogens Bøggild. In 1963 Donali moved to the artist colony at the
Oslo suburb of
Bøler. He became best known for his work with the
Nidaros Cathedral. From 1957 to 1968, he had helped in the restoration of the cathedral while attending school in
Trondheim. In 1957, he traveled under scholarship to
England and
France in order to study
Gothic sculpture. He worked at Nidaros until 1968. He lived in
Feiring in
Akershus from 1973. He was awarded the Benneches legat in 1952 and Lorch-Schives legat in 1955. He received the Nidaros Cathedral gold medal (
Nidaros domkirkes gullmedalje) in 1969. ==Selected works==