Helsinki - Finnish National Museum of Art

(Local Name: Ateneum Taidemuseo) On the south side of Helsinki's Station Square is the National Museum of Art, usually known as the Ateneum after the name of the building it occupies (by C. T. Hoijer, 1884-87), which also houses the Finnish Academy of Art. This is Finland's finest art collection, mostly works of between 1700 and 1960. It is planned to house the collection of contemporary art in a gallery of its own. The Finnish section of the museum includes works by A. Edelfelt (1854-1905), E. Järnefelt (1863-1937), P. Halonen (1865-1933) and A. Gallén-Kallela (1865-1935) among many others. Among works by foreign masters are Rembrandt's "Monk Reading" and examples of contemporary art from many countries. In the sculpture hall are works by the Finnish sculptors V. Vallgren, W. Aaltonen, W. Runeberg and S. Hildén. In front of the entrance is a bronze figure (by V. Vallgren, 1929) of Albert Edelfelt.