Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation

PRIVATE FINE ARTS FOUNDATIONThe Serlachius Museum complex and Visual Arts Residency are maintained by the Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation. It was established in 1933 to preserve and amass the art collection of Gösta Serlachius. The foundation’s mission was also defined as beautifying Mänttä with art.

Gösta Serlachius wanted his art collection to be preserved in Mänttä, which, according to his own words, had witnessed the birth of the collection. The main focus of the collection is still on the art of Finland’s Golden Age. It also includes old European art, older Finnish art, works from the transition period of Finnish art and early modernism, as well as a growing collection of contemporary art.

After the death of Gösta Serlachius, the Fine Arts Foundation was lead by his son, Ralph Erik Serlachius (1901–1980), from 1943 to 1976. During his time, the collections were accumulated, albeit rather slowly. In 1973, the Fine Arts Foundation hired its first full-time curator with a degree in the field of museums.

The development of the foundation and exhibition activities continued during the time of Gustaf Serlachius (1935–2009). He became the chairman of the Fine Arts Foundation’s board of trustees in 1976 and the chairman of the board in 1980. Joenniemi Manor was thoroughly restored in 1983–1984 and taken into use as an art museum in its entirety. The exhibition space was approximately 500 square metres.

In 1986, G.A. Serlachius Corporation merged with Metsäliitto Industries. In connection with this, the rules of the Fine Arts Foundation were revised. The representatives of G.A. Serlachius Ltd. were replaced by representatives of the newly established family association Sissi och Gösta Serlachius Ättlingar r.f.

In 2000, the Fine Arts Foundation bought the former headquarters of G.A. Serlachius Ltd. in the centre of Mänttä. It had only been partially in use after the establishment of Metsä-Serla, when the new company’s headquarters had moved to Helsinki. In 2003, a museum was opened in the building, telling about the history of Serlachius, Mänttä and the paper industry.

Gustaf Serlachius passed away in 2009. Earlier that year, Henrik de la Chapelle, M.Sc. (Econ.), had been elected Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

In 2010, the Fine Arts Foundation announced an international architectural competition for an extension to be built in connection with the manor. The completion of the new museum building in the summer of 2014 meant that the activities multiplied and made Serlachius a significant cultural destination outside the big cities.

In addition to expanding its exhibition activities, the Fine Arts Foundation has carried out long-term work on the collections. The Board of Directors of the Fine Arts Foundation approved the Foundation’s collection policy programme in 2015. It includes, among other things, the principles according to which the Foundation’s valuable art collection is managed and enriched.