The National Gallery of Norway

The National Gallery of Norway

The National Gallery of Norway is situated at 13 Karl Johans gate in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It features a wide range of ancient and modern artworks by Norwegian and international artists, and is the largest art museum in Norway. Originally built in 1837, the gallery was not open to the public at the time. In 1882, it relocated to a sculpture collection building constructed by a bank in Oslo. Later, the bank donated its original collection of sculptures to the Oslo Municipality. In 1903, the Norwegian government took over the collection. Since then, the building — designed by Heinrich Ernst and Adolf Schirmer — has served as the main venue of the National Gallery of Norway, with its first exhibition held in 1908.

The collection of the National Gallery of Norway primarily consists of paintings and sculptures by Norwegian artists, along with a selection of notable modern and contemporary Western European artworks donated by the “Friends of the National Gallery,” including masterpieces by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, and Picasso. Additionally, the collection includes foreign artworks, mainly comprising 16th- to 17th-century Russian icons, European religious paintings, as well as ancient sculptures from Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Among the Norwegian artworks, the most prominent are those by Edvard Munch, often referred to as the “Father of Expressionism.” The museum holds a total of 58 of his works, many of which are representative pieces from various periods of the artist’s career, rivaling the collection at the nearby Munch Museum in Oslo.

National Gallery of Norway

Must-visit reason: The largest art gallery in Norway

Continent: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region: Norway[Norway]

Province/State: Oslo [Oslo]

City: Oslo [Oslo]