The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is an
art museum
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...
located at
Høvikodden in
Bærum
Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...
municipality in
Viken county
Viken may refer to:
*Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region
*Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020
*Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden
*Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It is situated on a headland jutting into the
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
, approximately southwest of
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
.
History
The artcentre was founded in 1968 by World and Olympic champion
figure skater Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion ( 1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champi ...
(1912–1969) and her husband, shipping magnate and art collector
Niels Onstad
Niels Onstad (26 March 1909 – 17 June 1978) was a Norwegian shipowner and art collector.
Biography
Niels Onstad was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. Onstad played football for SFK Lyn in his younger days. He played as defender on the c ...
(1909–1978).
[ Their private collection of contemporary art, total 110 images, as well as funds for construction and operation of the centre was donated by the couple in 1961, when the Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad Foundation was created.] The centre, designed by Norwegian architects Jon Eikvar and Sven Erik Engebretsen, also contains Sonja Henie's award collection.
In 1994, the building was extended, and a two-story wing with exhibition spaces and technical rooms was added.[ This project was designed by the same architects—the new wing abuts the main body of the building as an organic extension. In 2003, another extension was made, this time in the form of an annex that extends into the outdoor park, connected to the main building by a passage leading from the lower level. In addition to six exhibition halls, the Centre also has an auditorium and smaller meeting rooms. Today, the total building area is approximately 9,500 square metres, of which 3,500 are occupied by exhibition spaces.
]
Present
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter organizes exhibitions and performances. Art center is visited by around 100,000 people each year.[ The centre celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 with exhibitions, seminars, book, concert and movie titled ''Høvikodden LIVE''.][
In 2019 the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter hosted the first FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship.
]
Controversy
After being identified in an exhibition catalogue in 2012 by the family of noted French-Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg, it was demanded that the HOK return ''Profil bleu devant la cheminée'' (Woman in Blue in Front of Fireplace) (1937), a Matisse painting that was confiscated by the Nazis in 1941. Museum Director Tone Hansen said the museum did not know the painting was stolen by the Nazis, until it was notified by the Rosenberg family.
Rosenberg had bought the painting direct from Matisse in 1937, and had it stored at the time of the 1940 Nazi invasion of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
in a bank vault in Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Ém ...
, a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the Gironde department in Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
, southwestern France. The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg
The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce (german: Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Par ...
entered the vault in March 1941 to confiscate the art pieces, and after cataloging at Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
Jeu de Paume ( en, Real Tennis Court) is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media. It is located in the north corner (west side) of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. In 2004, Galerie Nationale ...
in September 1941, it was designated to the private collection of Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
. Then via various dealers during the Nazi period, post-war in the late 1940s it was bought by Niels Onstad from the Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
-based dealer Henri Bénézit
Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.''
* Henri I de Mon ...
. It has since appeared in numerous publications, and toured the world on several occasions. Although under Norwegian law, due to the period of ownership the painting now belongs to HOK, Norway was one of 44 signatories to the 1998 Washington Conference Principles
The Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, formally the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and sometimes referred to as the Washington Declaration is a statement concerning the restitution of art confiscated by the N ...
on Nazi-Confiscated Art. Protracted mediation, overseen by Christopher A. Marinello, saw the painting returned to the heirs of Paul Rosenberg in March 2014.
As a result, the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter launched a Provenance Project.
References
Other sources
*Hellandsjø, Karin ''The Henie Onstad Art Centre: The Art of Tomorrow Today : The Collection'' (Torino: Skira, 2008)
External links
Official site
*
{{authority control
Art museums and galleries in Norway
Museums in Viken
1968 establishments in Norway
Art museums established in 1968
Biographical museums in Norway
Buildings and structures in Bærum
Modernist architecture in Norway