Norway's new home for art
The National Museum of Norway was founded in 2003, when the National Gallery, the Museum of Art and Design, the Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Contemporary Art merged. The process of moving more than 400,000 objects to the new premises that opened in 2022 took over one year to complete.
Over 6,500 art works from the collection will be on display in the huge exhibition halls, which contain over 90 rooms. The first level features a collection of design and crafts from antiquity to the present, while contemporary art is exhibited on the second level. Last but not least, the 2,400 square metre Light Hall on the third level provides a bright and unique setting for temporary exhibitions.
Make sure you have plenty of time if you plan to see it all!
World famous artists
The collection contains works by some of the biggest names in art history, from both Norway and abroad. One of the most famous Norwegian Modernist painters is Edvard Munch, whose art fills an entire room.
Here you can find iconic paintings including The Scream (Skrik in Norwegian) and Madonna. Other famous painters from Norway include prominent naturalist and national romantic painters Adolph Tidemand, Hans Gude, Christian Krogh, Theodor Kittelsen, Harald Sohlberg, Thomas Fearnley, and more.
The museum also exhibits works by some of the biggest international names, including Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, among others.
Contemporary works by artists including Ingerid Kuiters, Daisuke Kosugi, Ilavenil Vasuky Jayapalan will also be exhibited, with many more to come.
It's not only the paintings that are worth a visit, though. Among the museum's absolute highlights is the Baldishol carpet, woven sometime between 1040 and 1190, and a 600-year-old Ming Dynasty dragon vase.