Lillehammer Art Museum

The Lillehammer Art Museum occupies a striking building designed by Snøhetta and opened to coincide with the 1994 Winter Olympics. The permanent collection focuses on Norwegian art from the 19th and early 20th centuries, with particular strengths in landscape painting and the national romantic tradition that preceded Norwegian independence.

The collection includes works by many of the defining figures of Norwegian painting: Christian Krohg, Erik Werenskiold, Harriet Backer, and Nikolai Astrup are all represented. The museum also holds a significant collection of 20th-century Norwegian art and runs a changing programme of temporary exhibitions covering both Norwegian and international artists. It is located near the upper end of Storgata, making it an easy combination with a walk along the main street.

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A story
The Lillehammer Art Museum has one of the best collections of Norwegian 19th-century painting outside Oslo — a consequence of the museum's early involvement with artists who lived in the Gudbrandsdal valley, which attracted Norwegian landscape painters in large numbers during the national romantic period. Erik Werenskiold and Christian Krohg are both represented, as are lesser-known artists whose work defined the visual image of Norway during the years leading up to independence from Sweden in 1905. The museum's current building, designed by Snøhetta in 1994, was one of the Norwegian architecture firm's first major commissions.