The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is an art museum located at Høvikodden in Bærum municipality in Akershus county, Norway.[1] It is situated on a headland jutting into the Oslofjord, approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Oslo.
History
editThe artcentre was founded in 1968 by World and Olympic champion figure skater Sonja Henie (1912–1969) and her husband, shipping magnate and art collector Niels Onstad (1909–1978).[2] 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.[2] The centre, designed by Norwegian architects Jon Eikvar and Sven Erik Engebretsen, also contains Sonja Henie's award collection.[3]
In 1994, the building was extended, and a two-story wing with exhibition spaces and technical rooms was added.[3] 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.[4]
Present
editHenie Onstad Kunstsenter organizes exhibitions and performances. Art center is visited by around 100,000 people each year.[3] The centre celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 with exhibitions, seminars, book, concert and movie titled Høvikodden LIVE.[3]
In 2019 the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter hosted the first FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship.[5]
Controversy
editAfter being identified in an exhibition catalogue in 2012 by the family of noted French-Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg,[6] 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.[7]
Rosenberg had bought the painting direct from Matisse in 1937, and had it stored at the time of the 1940 Nazi invasion of France in a bank vault in Libourne, a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine, southwestern France. The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg entered the vault in March 1941 to confiscate the art pieces, and after cataloging at Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in September 1941, it was designated to the private collection of Hermann Göring. Then via various dealers during the Nazi period, post-war in the late 1940s it was bought by Niels Onstad from the Paris-based dealer Henri Bénézit. 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 on Nazi-Confiscated Art. Protracted mediation, overseen by Christopher A. Marinello, saw the painting returned to the heirs of Paul Rosenberg in March 2014.[8]
As a result, the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter launched a Provenance Project.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Henie Onstad Art Centre". Visitnorway.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Henie Onstad Art Centre". The Norway Cultural Profile. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d Hellandsjø, Karin (2007). "Henie Onstad Kunstsenter". In Henriksen, Petter (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Architecture". Henie Onstad. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "The world's first official World Cup in Fischer Random Chess is organized at Høvikodden". Henie Onstad. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ Cohen, Patricia; Tom Mashberg (April 26, 2013). "Family, 'Not Willing to Forget,' Pursues Art It Lost to Nazis". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ Mashberg, Tom (April 5, 2013). "Family Seeks Return of a Matisse Seized by the Nazis". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Nazi looted Matisse work returned by Norwegian gallery". BBC News. March 21, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Provenance Research: Provenance Project at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK), Høvikodden". 2017-03-14. Archived from the original on 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
Pierre Bonnard, L`arbre près de la rivière,1912 Provenace: Mme. Jeanpierre (Bénézit), Paris Henri Matisse, Les citrons, 1943 Provenance: Gal. Bénézit, Paris Henri Matisse, Nature Morte, ca 1902 Provenance: Coll. Blot, Paris, Coll. De la Chapelle, Paris, Gal, Bénézit, Paris Pablo Picasso, Femme assise dans un fauteil, 1941 Provenance: Gal. Bénézit, Paris Pablo Picasso, Femme assise dans un fauteuil, 1941 Provenance: Niveau Gallery, New York 1958, Hahn Gallery, New York Juan Gris, Guitare et compotier, 1919 Provenance: Coll. Raoul la Roche; Leonce Rosenberg, Paris; Gall. Balay et Carré, Paris; Jaques Seligmann & Co, Gallery, New York; Kleemann Gallery, New York. Juan Gris, Le Journal, 1918. Provenance: Coll. Dr. Fritz Heer, Zürich: Perls Gallery New York. Juan Gris, Femme avec écharpe, 1924. Provenance: Coll. Madame Bela Hein, Paris: Knoedler Gallery, New York: Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, Frank Perls Gallery, Los Angeles. Gal. Benador, Genève. Juan Gris, Guitare, pommes et carace, 1926. Provenance: Gal. Simon, Paris. Paul Klee, Um Sieben über Dächern, 1930. Provenance: Gal. Simon, Paris. Flechtheim, Berlin: Gustav Knauar, Berlin. Charles Lapicque, Toitures à Paris, 1943. Provenance: Gal. Louis Carré, Paris 1943. Coll M. Spirer, Coll. Sylvie Galanis, innkjøpt fra Gal. Villand & Galanis, Paris 1964. Charles Lapicque, Vieil home avec son chien, 1944. Provenance: Gal. Louis Carrè, Paris. Coll.M. Spirer. Coll. Sylvie Galanis. Innkjøpt fra Gal. Villand & Galanis, Paris 1964. Charles Lapique, Cheval attach à un arbre, 1943. Provenance: Coll. Willy Grubben, Brussel. Gal. Louis Carré, Paris. Coll. Sylvie Galanis. Innkjøpt fra from Gal. Villand & Galanis, Paris 1964. Fernand Léger, Composition avec figure, 1930. Provenance: Coll. Chester Johnsen Gallery, Chicago: Walther P. Chrysler Jr., New York: Frank Perls Gallery. New York. Fernand Léger, Le deaux profils, 1933. Provenance: Frank Perls Gallery, New York. Jaques Villon, Le Cirque, 1933. Provenance: Tannenbaum Gallery, New York. Jaques Villon, Les jardiniers, 1943. Provenance: Gal. H. Matarasso, Nice. Jaques Villon, La petite ville, 1944. Provenance: Gal. Louis Carré, Paris.
Other sources
edit- Hellandsjø, Karin The Henie Onstad Art Centre: The Art of Tomorrow Today : The Collection (Torino: Skira, 2008)
External links
edit- Official site
- "Henie-Onstad Art Centre". VisitOslo.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.