No other Norwegian woman has ever achieved such widespread fame as Sonja Henie. This April 8th is the 100th anniversary of the athletic ice-skater’s birth – a date to delight both Hollywood and modern art enthusiasts.
Henie and Onstad
In 1956 Sonja Henie married the Norwegian shipowner Niels Onstad. Their marriage constitutes a milestone in the history of art in Norway. For in 1961 the couple set up the foundation that stands behind Norway’s first art centre for modernist and contemporary art, the original core of which was an impressive collection of some three hundred artworks purchased by the couple themselves. Since then, the collection has grown to encompass more than 4,000 works, while the Centre itself runs a programme of highly varied activities. Sonja and Niels wanted a living museum that would serve a range of audiences. It is a goal the Centre works to meet every day. For this centenary event we turn the spotlight on Sonja Henie as art collector. In a temporary exhibition we present a selection of works from Henie’s collection, which she donated to the Henie Onstad Art Centre shortly before her death in 1968.
The Henie Onstad collection in three varieties
The anniversary exhibition presenting Sonja Henie as art collector is the first in a series of three experimental shows to profile the Henie Onstad collection in 2012. In collaboration with contemporary artists, Henie Onstad Art Centre will display more of its collection in the setting of specially constructed installations. This exhibition in honour of Sonja Henie is supplemented with an entirely new work by the contemporary Norwegian artist Birgitte Sigmundstad.
