Henie Onstad Art Centre — Norway's First Modern Art Museum, From a Skater's Gift

At a Glance

Henie Onstad Art Centre (HOK) in Høvikodden, Bærum, is Norway's first major modern art museum, opened in 1968. Its founders were the three-time Olympic figure-skating champion and Hollywood star Sonja Henie (1912–1969) and her husband, shipping magnate Niels Onstad, who donated their collection and the seaside site to the nation.

Modern Art Before the National Gallery

The Henie-Onstads collected Paris and New York abstraction of the 1940s–60s. The 1968 modernist building by Eikvar & Engebretsen put Matisse, Picasso, Miró, and Léger in front of the Norwegian public years before the National Gallery took that step.

Collection

• Matisse — Woman in an Armchair.
• Picasso, Léger, Miró—the Paris thread in a single gallery.
• Yves Klein — Blue Monochromes.
• Sonja Henie memorial room with costumes, medals, film posters—an unusual personal-history wing inside a modern art museum.
• Temporary shows of Norwegian contemporary artists 4–5 times a year.
• Outdoor sculpture park with Bourgeois, Carl Nesjar along the shoreline.

Tips

Bus 151/161 from Oslo Central to Høvikodden, then five minutes on foot—about 20 minutes total; summer boats also run. Around 160 NOK; free for under-18. Plan 1.5 hours indoors plus a shoreline walk. Pair with the new Nasjonalmuseet and the MUNCH museum for a full-day Oslo trio.