The National Museum in Oslo is home to Norway’s largest collection of art, architecture and design – from ancient times to the present day.
The museum opened its doors in a brand new building by Oslo's waterfront in 2022. With an exhibition area of 13,000 m², it is the largest museum in the Nordic region.
The Light Hall on the third floor, provides a bright and unique setting for temporary exhibitions, with 2,400 m². From this floor you can access the rooftop terrace during the Summer season, with magnificent views of the Oslo fjord.
The collection exhibition spans over two massive floors, where you can experience around 6,500 works and explore how art, design and architecture affect our lives.
On the ground floor, you can explore design and crafts from ancient times to the present day. Painting, sculpture, and architecture also form a central part of the presentation. Here, you can experience Roman emperor busts and the nearly thousand-year-old Baldishol tapestry. Here, the political and social power that design and art have had throughout the ages is thematized.
You will also see large parts of Queen Maud's and Queen Sonja's royal costume collections. In the Norwegian contemporary fashion gallery, you will find established designers like Per Spook, alongside younger designers who have made their mark in recent years.
On the second floor, you will find still lifes from the 1600s, the earliest depictions of Norwegian landscapes, and Edvard Munch's many representations of the human emotional experience, including The Scream. Hannah Ryggen's textile works and John Savio's woodcuts are given significant space, and in The Fairy Tale Room, you can experience Theodor Kittelsen's magical universe.
Here, you will also see some of the museum's most important works in national and international contemporary art. This section of the collection includes three installations: Per Inge Bjørlo's Inner Room V, Ilya Kabakov's The Rubbish Man, and the collaborative piece Gaze by visual artist Irma Salo Jæger, composer Sigurd Berge, and poet Jan Erik Vold. A special gallery is dedicated to the architect Sverre Fehn.
