The National Museum

Experience old and contemporary art at the new National Museum

The largest art museum in the Nordic countries. Here you can experience both older and modern art, as well as contemporary art and design, all under one roof. The National Gallery closed in 2019. It is now a part of the National Museum.

The National Museum gathers the collections of the former National Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design. The presentation of the artworks is chronological and shows the main features of Norwegian art history, in addition to selected foreign works. The main exhibition creates a coherence across the various collections and the various historical epochs.

Some of the most famous paintings by Edvard Munch, including The Scream (1893) and Madonna (1894), are located in the Munch Room at the National Museum. You can also see the works of artists such as Harriet Backer, Harald Sohlberg, Christian and Oda Krohg, as well as sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. You can also see works by international artists such as Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Pablo Picasso.

The building itself is designed in a brutalist style by Kleihues + Schuwerk Gesellschaft von Architekten. The design of the building is subdued and minimalistic, and blends in well with the surroundings. From the roof terrace, visitors get a completely unique view of the inner Oslofjord. The space in front of the museum has been developed as an urban meeting place with outdoor seating and space to rest.

The museum has tours in English on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 2pm. More info here.