Collections

Bergen Art Museum administers collections which today comprise ca. 10,000 objects: paintings, paper-based artworks, videos, installations, objects and furniture.

A portion of these works can be experienced in the museum’s permanent exhibitions, where they are presented in an art historical context. The museum’s temporary exhibitions regularly include works from the museum’s holdings, and some works can be encountered interactively, via the museum’s Internet-program for children and youth.

1825
The history of Bergen Art Museum’s collections dates back to 1825, when Bergen Museum was first established. Statesman W.F.K. Christie (1778–1849) and the well-known painter J.C. Dahl (1788–1857) were the driving forces behind developing a paintings collection for the museum. This collection was transferred to Bergen Picture Gallery when the latter was established as a municipal institution in 1878. Two large donations provided Bergen Municipality with even more valuable art collections: the Rasmus Meyers Collections, established by deed in 1917, and the Stenersen’s Collection, given to Bergen Municipality in 1971.

Lysverket
The joint administration of Bergen Municipality’s art collections became clearly visible with the establishment of Bergen Art Museum in 1999, and with the opening of Lysverket’s comprehensive permanent exhibition in 2003, the name ‘Bergen Picture Gallery’ was no longer used to denote the oldest part of the collection. At the same time the Stenersen Building was transformed, from being the location of the Stenersen Collection and Bergen Picture Gallery to the location for presenting the museum’s temporary exhibitions.

Art Museums of Bergen
From 2007, the administration of the collections has been delegated to the consolidated ART MUSEUMS OF BERGEN. Bergen Municipality’s ownership of the artworks nevertheless remains unchanged.

By: Henrik A. Berg
2-2 2010