The Malmö Art Museum collection now contains of about 38,000 works, covering the period from the 16th century to the present day. Most of Scandinavia's innovative and highly distinguished artists are represented at Malmö Art Museum.
The museum hosts several important collections and historical donations, including the works of Carl Fredrik Hill (1849-1911) whose pictures still evoke challenging thoughts on the human mind. The Herman Gotthardt collection
of Nordic modern 20th century art is a highly important contribution to the understanding of the early production of Scandinavian modern art.
The Russian Collection
Also in the museum´s holdings is a unique collection of Russian fin-de-siècle paintings, most of it acquired at the famous Baltic Exhibition in Malmö in 1914. Included in the collection is works by Ilja Repin, Isaac Levitan, Vasilij Surikov and Valentin Serov, members of The Peredvizhniki, a group of artists who came together in 1870 in protest at the conservative attitudes of Russia´s Imperial Academy of Art. The group aimed to portray contemporary Russian society, and to use art to highlight social and political issues. By the turn of the 20th century and on, many Russian artists developed their own unique styles, neither realist nor avante-garde. These include Aleksandr Golovin, Pavel Kuznetsov, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Boris Kustodiev, Mikhail Vrubel and Aleksandr Jakovlef.
Only one or sometimes two works from the collection (in total 58 paintings and drawings) is displayed in the permanent exhibition "From 1500 until Now".
Contemporary Art
Today Malmo Art Museum purchases more artworks than any other museum in Sweden. In the course of the past fifteen years it has assembled the largest collection of Nordic contemporary art in Scandinavia, about 3,400 works. The large collection featuring artworks by several artists that are of international interest. Among them are: Cecilia Edefalk (Swe), Felix Gmelin (Swe), Annika von Hausswolff (Swe), Nathalie Djurberg (Swe), Christian Andersson (Swe), Jesper Just (Den), Ann Lislegaard (Den/No), Joakim Koester (Den), Elmgreen & Dragset (Den/No), Cecilie Dahl (No), Olav Christopher Jensen (No), Esko Männikö (Fin), Nina Roos (Fin), Illka Halso (Fin) and Olafur Eliasson (Den/Isl).
Art and Craft
The Museum also has an extensive collection of furniture and handicraft, primarily from southern Sweden.
In the Malmö Art Museum´s collections are significant Swedish and European ceramics from the 1400s until today. The collection of the Swedish and European Glass from the 1300s onwards, where the Swedish 29th century glassworks are well represented, is of international interest. As the collection of Swedish and European silver, mainly Swedish silver from the Baroque to the designer Torun Bülow Hübe (1927-2004).
There are also objects in the collection of textiles, pewter, brass and bronze that arouses interest.
The collection of furniture includes primarily Swedish furniture from the 1600s until today, and also older musical intruments.
The “best" furniture and decorative art objects are exhibited in the permanent exhibition “From 1500 to Now".
Graphic Art
Malmö Art Museum´s collection of Swedish and international graphics consists of about ten thousands art works and provides a great source of knowledge about the graphic arts development for centuries, both regarding the aesthetic experiences and the insights into significant artistic creation.
The collection of graphic works includes international graphics from the 1500s onwards with artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francisco de Goya, William Hogarth. Several international icons from the modern period are also included in the collection as Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, and representatives of Pop Art as Andy Warhol, Jim Dine, Robert Rauschenberg and David Hockney. The Swedish graphics from the late 1800s and early 1900s is extensive, with names such as Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn and Axel Fridell. From the last 50 years Gunnar Norrmans entire graphic production and most of Bertil Lundbergs production is represented in the collection. Graphics by the artists who were students at The Graphic School of Forum in Malmö, led by Bertil Lundberg, is also included in the collection.
