Thorvald Hellesen, Komposisjon, ca. 1919, Eckbos Legat
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Ludvig Karsten, Det blå kjøkken,1913, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo
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Asta Nørregaard, Bondekone fra Normandie, 1889, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo
The Nordic Institute of Art invites you to Norway’s first art history festival in Oslo, October 16–18, 2025.
The festival takes place over three days, from October 16 to 18, and brings together leading scholars and curators for lectures, conversations, and guided tours of exhibitions and art historically relevant locations. The program includes contributions from Norwegian, Scandinavian, and international art historians and institutions.
The Nordic Art History Festival is organized by the Nordic Institute of Art in collaboration with Eckbos Legat and the Vigeland Museum.
The festival is carried out with support from AXA Art Insurance and the Bergslien Art Museum, with contributions from, among others, the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the National Museum in Oslo, MUNCH in Oslo, KODE in Bergen, Stavanger Art Museum, Lillehammer Art Museum, and the Royal Collections, as well as the publishers Uten Tittel, Orfeus, and Arnoldsche, to present an exciting and academically strong program aimed at both professionals and art enthusiasts.
The program highlights both historical and current themes, with lectures and events on Brynjulf Bergslien’s Karl Johan monument, the currently exhibited Ludvig Karsten, and the newly rediscovered Baroque painter Clara Peeters, as well as new perspectives on the National Museum’s collection and recent research on Munch.
Among the speakers are Professor Éric de Chassey, Director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris; Dr. Karin Sidén, Director of Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm; Dr. Jorunn Veiteberg; and Dr. Linda Hinners, Curator at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. On the opening day, lectures will be held in English; on the remaining days, in Norwegian/Scandinavian.
Venues and exhibitions
Villa Eckbo
Formerly the private residence of the Eckbo family, the villa was designed by architect Arnstein Arneberg in 1914, inspired by gothic and medieval buildings. Arneberg is famous for having designed many of the most important private houses in Norway, including the Skaugum mansion for the crown princes in 1936. After the first day of talks the festival will be inaugurated in the villa with a drinks reception.
Sjøfartsbygningen
Comissioned by shipping magnate Eivind Eckbo in 1913, Sjøfartsbygningen was one of Oslos most modern office buildings. In 1923 and 1928 the kubist painter Thorvald Hellesen was comissioned to paint a series of murals and decorations in the building, and later in 1932 Arnstein Arneberg did a number of refurbishment that shaped the interiors towards a continental art deco style.
Vigelandmuseet
The Vigeland museum was build in 1920 as the residence and studio of sculptor Emanuel Vigeland, with the intention of converting it into a museum after his demise. Today the museum is dedicated to both Vigeland’s work and temporary exhibitions, and the artists’s private appartments are preserved just as he left them.
Not only will the festival include a rare opportunity to visit the private appartment, but also a visit to the exhibition «Ambrosia Tønnessen», curated by Dr. Philos. Jorun Veiteberg.
The National Museum, with the Langaard room
The new National Museum was inaugurated in 2022 and is one of the largest art museums in Europe. Among its many collections is the Langaard room, a recreation of a room in the old National Gallery with the collections of European old master paintings and decorative arts which collector Christian Langaard gifted to the museum in 1923.
Slottsplassen
The front square of the Royal Palace is decorated with the riding statue of King Karl XVI Johan, by Brynjulf Bergslien. The comission was a conmemoration of the Norwegian-Swedish union and was finished in 1875 after years of intense debates and competitions.
Munch Museum
The new Munch Museum was designed by international architect firm Estudio Herreros and opened to the public in 2021. During the festival we will have an exclusive visit of the exhibition «Ludvig Karsten - Rastløs» in the company of the exhibition curator Dr. Signe Andreassen. Karsten was a contemporary friend and rival of Edvard Munch.
The Nordic Institute of Art is an independent organisation with the mission to stimulate the research on and interest in art history from the Nordic region in an international context.