Paintings are the creation of the painter, but their real life begins when they leave the studio. When they enter into the world, a dialogue takes place with anyone who appreciates and accepts them, and in response, they offer sympathy and warmth. A conversation is struck up between the art lover and the artwork – they become accomplices, joined together by their mutual attraction. There is an unwritten pact between them…
When I heard that Sonja Henie had died, it seemed to me that all the artworks she had loved followed her into the darkness, and that they would never be the same again because she could no longer see them.
The artists will miss this great lady’s taste. It is my sincere hope that the director of her foundation, and everybody else responsible for its operation, will never betray her work and her example, preserving the art’s true essence, eschewing the current trend for the insipid and spiritless. Preserve the art of yesterday and tomorrow – art that is not about virtuosity, but about passion and love.
(Maurice Estève in Prisma no. 2, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden 1969)
Without collectors, art would have difficulty surviving. But collecting is also a culturally creative pursuit. Donations made by patrons of the arts once provided the very basis for the development of museums as institutions, and patrons still play a significant role in artistic life today. They have been crucial in forming the public’s perception of art and its presentation. This was certainly true of Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad.
Today, their collection is an historical document – it defines an era in the history of Norwegian collecting. It not only represents an important part of Norway’s international art from the twentieth century, but it has also influenced our very understanding of Norwegian and international art. One reason for this is that several of the other private, contemporary art collections of the time had been disbanded, or sold abroad. Seen in this light, it was exceedingly providential that the Henie Onstad collection became available in its entirety to the public, and on the other hand this enhanced the collection’s value. It represented continuity nationally, and the Art Centre became an international point of reference for modernism in Norway.
The Henie Onstad collection followed the classic, European collecting tradition of the time, with a strong focus on France. There is no clear framework underlying it, but, within the limits of time and choice, it is both rich and of high quality. No important art collection would exist without a passion for art, and Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad’s reveals their strong, personal dedication. As they themselves were products of their time, their collection is similarly so. As collectors, they each had their own approach, though both had a sound, assured taste and vision. In 1969, when Sonja Henie died, Jean Bazaine wrote the following:
It was with great sadness that I learned of Sonja Henie’s death, only three days after spending a wonderful evening with her and Niels. As usual, she was excited about everything that had happened lately – she was as enthusiastic as a little girl, and was full of plans for her Art Centre. She had a deeply felt love of painting, devoid of snobbishness or prejudice. She ignored the fashionable – she judged art with her own heart.
Her judgement, as well as her vision, was quick and decisive. She simply said “I like that”, or “I don’t like that” – and if it was something she really liked, she would not listen to any opposition – she wanted the painting – immediately. But she was not afraid of admitting she had made a wrong judgement, which is a rare quality amongst collectors.
I have used the term “little girl” to describe her, and this may surprise those who knew her for her clear insight and business acumen alone. I am reminded of my own daughter, who, on meeting Sonja for the first time, said to me: “She really had no childhood. She worked to become a great artist at a time when all her friends were playing with dolls. I think she’s retained her childlike freshness and childlike ability to play out her dreams – painting is her rediscovered childhood.”
(Prisma no. 2, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden 1969)
Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad chose, and were guided by individual consultants such as the Norwegian art historians Henning Gran, Alf Jørgen Aas, and, later, Ole Henrik Moe. Amongst art dealers, they had a wide range of international contacts, but when they acquired something, the final choice was always their own. The personal contact and friend-ship they often established with artists came to be of major importance – little by little, they became their own most important advisors.
When the Art Centre opened in 1968, the collection expanded over a period of around fifty years. The main thrust of the work consisted of such pioneers as Jacques Villon and Juan Gris on one side, and Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse on the other; pioneers who were to have a major impact on the development of the so-called “School of Paris”. The various directions that evolved from this are well represented within the collection. Most of the collection is work from the 1950s, split into two principal currents: on one side, the School of Paris’ lyrical work, inspired by nature, some of it based on more geometric abstractions, and, on the other, the more brutal, Nordic Expressionism, epitomized by the artists of the Cobra group.
Work that can be termed lyrical abstraction is richly represented by such artists as Roger Bissière, Jean Bazaine, Alfred Manessier and Gustave Singier, whilst the Canadian Jean-Paul Riopelle stands for a more spontaneous form of abstraction. The Cubist line descending from Cézanne, on the other hand, is represented by Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger, passing through Maurice Estève and Alberto Magnelli, to arrive at Martin Barré. Between these two main flanks, we find a wide range of representatives of post-war European art: from painters Nicolas de Staël, Pierre Soulages and Hans Hartung to sculptors by Robert Jacobsen, Émile Gilioli, Julio Le Parc and Kumi Sugai.
Representatives of a more informal style of painting are Jean Fautrier and Jean Dubuffet, who’s Art Brut was inspired by primitive art. Dubuffet’s rejection of the classical tradition of French painting is reminiscent of a similar attitude held by the Nordic Cobra artists in the collection: Asger Jorn, Guillaume Corneille, Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky and Lucebert.
These and a number of other artists are represented with a wide range of work. This is especially true of Jacques Villon, Maurice Estève, Nicolas de Staël, Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Soulages, Hans Hartung and several of the Cobra artists. There are also important individual works, and smaller groups of work by Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Joan Miró and Yves Klein, which give the collection the necessary weight and credentials. And not to be overlooked is a whole array of exciting work by Sam Francis, Domenico Gnoli, Antoni Tàpies, Wifredo Lam, Rufino Tamayo and others, not least the Norwegian artists.
Throughout the years, Niels Onstad had built up an interesting collection of work by Edvard Munch. However, when he and Sonja Henie decided to incorporate individual pieces by Norwegian artists into their collection, it was contemporary rather than older work they chose to focus on. Once again, they demonstrated their clear-sighted taste for innovation, and began collecting work by the younger generation. These artists used nature as their springboard and source of inspiration, developing an abstract form of expression something like that of their colleagues in France. The most significant among them were Anna-Eva Bergman, Gunnar S. Gundersen, Jens Johannessen and Jakob Weidemann. Niels Onstad and Sonja Henie were particularly interested in the last-mentioned, and within a short space of time they had built up a comprehensive collection of his work, and had become very close friends with him.
Forty years have passed since the Henie Onstad Art Centre opened its doors to the public, and during this time the collection also experienced periods of darkness. It has grown and developed, but the donor’s original collection is slimmer, as some important pieces were sold in order to fund building projects, etc. Notably, the Munch collection was sold, among other.
With this as a background, a decision has now been taken to preserve the original collection by establishing a careful selection of the most significant works – a “Core Collection”, which is presented here. The Henie Onstad Art Centre intends to keep this intact. It will continue to be the pivotal point of our activities, providing the basis and reference point for later acquisitions and for new works and collections that may be added in the future.
The essay is taken from the book The Henie Onstad Art Centre: The Art of Tomorrow Today : The Collection by Karin Hellandsjø, Torino : Skira, 2008
