Located on Oslo’s waterfront, Norway’s National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design stands on the former site of the Railway Station West (Vestbanen) and opened to the public in June 2022.
Known simply as the National Museum, it is the largest museum in the Nordic region. Its collection comprises some 6,500 works presented across 86 exhibition rooms, spanning art, architecture and design from antiquity to the present day.
The building provides generous, flexible spaces for temporary and large-scale international exhibitions, including the Light Hall on the roof. Visitors can enjoy a large open-air roof terrace, the largest art library in the Nordics, panoramic views over Oslo’s harbor, a café and an extensive permanent collection.
© National Museum / Borre Hostland
“The new building enables the museum to show more of our collection than ever before, with spaces for temporary exhibitions of entirely new formats on an international scale,” says Karin Hindsbo, director of the National Museum. “It is a building that is now filled with events and activities.”
Designed by Kleihues + Schuwerk Architects under commission from Statsbygg, Norway’s public construction and property authority, the museum was conceived to preserve and display artworks for centuries. The architects used durable, dignified materials—oak, bronze, marble—and clad the façade in Norwegian slate. As a FutureBuilt pilot project, the building was designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent compared with standard practice.
The museum’s holdings are broad and varied. Highlights include imperial Roman busts, a nearly 1,000-year-old Baldishol Tapestry, imperial Chinese porcelain, royal costumes alongside contemporary fashion, notable interiors and graphic design, and a unique set of 18th-century Norwegian glass goblets.
© National Museum / Iwan Baan
The visual art galleries feature Dutch and Flemish landscapes and still lifes from the 17th century, Norwegian landscape paintings by Johan Christian Dahl, and works by artists such as Harriet Backer, Harald Sohlberg and Kitty Kielland. A centerpiece of the collection is the museum’s significant holdings by Edvard Munch, including iconic works like “The Scream.” The collection also includes paintings by Pablo Picasso and important 20th-century artists such as Henri Matisse and Anna-Eva Bergman. Additional dedicated spaces honor architect Sverre Fehn and include permanent installations by Per Inge Bjørlo and Ilya Kabakov.
Current and upcoming special exhibitions demonstrate the museum’s international scope. For example, the exhibition “Piranesi and the Modern” explored the Italian artist’s etchings of Rome, visionary architecture and dramatic ruins, and examined his influence on modern artistic thinking; that show ran through January 8, 2023. Future presentations have included retrospectives of artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Frida Kahlo and Mark Rothko.
The National Museum is open every day except Monday. General admission is 180 NOK; seniors (67+) and visitors aged 18–25 pay 110 NOK; and visitors under 18 enter free.