Real surprise: Helene Schjerfbeck’s art exhibition opens in The Met in New York
The exhibition of the works of the prestigious painter Helene Schjerfbeck will be featured for the first time in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is one of the most famous art museums in the world.
The exhibition of the favorite of the Finns will open at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in December and is open for five months.
Founded in 1872, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is known for its abbreviation The Met. It is one of the most important art museums in the world.
In the huge size The Met of Manhattan, the exhibition of a Finnish artist has never been featured before.
\”This is a top case, a dream come true and a unique moment in the history of Finnish art,\” Von Bonsdorff rejoices.
To the point of Schjerfbeck’s powerful self -portraits
About 60 Helene Schjerfbeck works will be featured in the New York exhibition, most of which are from the Ateneum Art Museum.
In addition, the exhibition includes artist’s work from other museums and individuals.
The exhibition covers the artist’s entire life of his or her last work. There are portraits, arrangements, landscapes and artist self -portraits.
– Self -portraits startle in all exhibitions, and I don’t think New York is an exception. They are so unique, appealing and powerful, says Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff.
Exhibition guests can see, among other things, the * Toipilas painting * (1888), one of Schjerfbeck’s most popular work.
In the painting, a little girl with a fluffy -haired, fluffy hair sits at the table and watches the shooting branch she holds in her hands.
Also featured will be the works * seamstress * (1905) and * Lace scarf * (1920), which The Met acquired in its collections in 2023. The painting is the museum’s first work by the Finnish artist.
Schjerfbeck’s art is “top quality”
Why are the world interested in Helene Schjerfbeck’s art?
– Schjerfbeck made high quality art. He was careful that every work from his studio was of the highest quality, says von Bonsdorff.
The exhibition is part of the Ateneum Classics for the World project, which is intended to highlight Finnish art abroad.
– We have consistently exported Schjerfbeck and other Finnish artists to the world for over 10 years. Now it produces fruit.
The leader of the Ateneum Art Museum emphasizes that it is not just about presenting the artist’s life work.
At the same time, Schjerfbeck takes a message about the pioneering country of equality and democracy, where it was possible for women to become an artist as early as the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In addition, the Schjerfbeck exhibition will also be carried out in collaboration with the New York Culture Institute of Finland and the Chief General of Finland New York, which presents the art field, its phenomena and factors in Finland.
Pekka Halonen conquers the Parisian audience
Nordic art and culture are currently of interest abroad.
\”We are in a situation where the Ateneum is contacted by international museums and not vice versa,\” says Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff.
In the 2000s, Helene Scjerfbeck’s exhibitions have been exhibitions in several Japanese cities, as well as in London and Frankfurt.
In addition, he has also become familiar with the skills of many other Finnish artists.
*Exhibition Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck on the Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum in New York 5.12.2025–5.4.2026.*