Collections and Museum

The core of the Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation’s collection consists of art from the Golden Age of Finnish art from the 1870s to the early 1900s. The collection also comprises Finnish modernism from the early 1900s and art by Gösta Serlachius’ contemporaries. 

Akseli Gallen-Kallela, whom Serlachius knew personally, is particularly well represented: of the nearly 200 works by Gallen-Kallela in the collection, 70 were acquired by Gösta Serlachius. Other key artists of the Golden Age include Albert Edelfelt, Emil Wikström, Helene Schjerfbeck, Ellen Thesleff, Magnus Enckell and Hugo Simberg. 

Among contemporaries, artists in Serlachius’ circle of acquaintances and collaborators included Marcus Collin, Hannes Autere, Lennart Segerstråle, Eric O. W. Ehrström and Jussi Mäntynen.  

The Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation began to collect contemporary art in the early 2010s. The collection includes both Finnish and foreign contemporary art, and it is being amassed especially through its own exhibitions. 

The Serlachius Collection was founded by a private collector and has an identity that reflects that of its collector. This nature of the collection is also taken into account in the acquisitions of contemporary art: the Foundation does not aim to collect a general collection, but links new acquisitions to the existing collection and its history.  

Gösta Serlachius worked with contemporary artists of his time: he commissioned new works and acquired works for his collection. Following Serlachius’s example, the Fine Arts Foundation engages in particularly long-term cooperation with certain artists who have a strong presence in the collection. These include Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Ville Lenkkeri, Elina Brotherus and Riiko Sakkinen.  

Other key artists include Noora Schroderus, Santeri Tuori, Jiri Geller and Marita Liulia. International contemporary art in the collection is represented by artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Lorna Simpson, Mark Wallinger, Trish Morrissey ja Matthew Day Jackson.

A particular strength in Serlachius’ art collections is the collection of old European art, which is significant and rare in Finland. It contains about a hundred works from the 15th to 18th century. 

Industrialist Gösta Serlachius had good international connections due to his work, and he also used art experts to help him in the acquisition of old master paintings. The collection includes Dutch, Flemish, Italian and Spanish art.  

Serlachius strives to promote research in the collection in cooperation with the Finnish and international scientific communities and by systematically conserving the works. The works in the collection have also been exhibited in international exhibitions – the most sought-after gems include Jusepe de Ribera’s Man, Wine Bottle and Tambourine(1631) and Juan de Zurbaran’s Fruit Basket and Cardoon (1643).