Thiel Gallery / Art From the Turn of the 20th Century

Bruno Liljefors, Carl Larsson, Prince Eugen, Anders Zorn, Ernst Josephson, Nils Kreuger, August Strindberg and Edvard Munch. During the renovation of Stockholm’s Thiel Gallery, significant parts of the unique collection of late 19th and early 20th century Swedish and Nordic art are on display at Bildmuseet.

The banker Ernest Thiel (1859–1947) was a major art collector and cultural figure. He translated works by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and supported the creation of the Nietzsche Archive in Weimar. Thiel and his wife Signe were close friends with many of the young writers and artists of their time. His admiration resulted in significant purchases, and he spent almost fifteen years building up his art collection.

In the early 1900s, Thiel commissioned architect Ferdinand Boberg to design a building that would serve as both a gallery and a home. A chalk-white building was erected at the far end of Stockholm’s Djurgården, on Blockhusudden, featuring a unique blend of European Art Nouveau, Moorish opulence and Swedish country house traditions. In 1924, the Swedish state bought the entire art collection and the building, together with its furnishings. Two years later, the Thiel Gallery was opened to the public.

It was his own generation of artists that Thiel supported, most of whom were members of the Swedish Artists’ Society, formed in opposition to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. The collection showcases Swedish and Nordic turn-of-the-century art, in a wide variety of different styles, moods and expressions.

For the first time in its history, the Thiel Gallery’s collection is now on tour. Around seventy of the finest works are on display at Bildmuseet. The Thiel Gallery reopens in June 2005.