The collection at Siljustøl

In 1984, the Siljustøl estate and a part of the house was bequeathed to the "Marie Hvoslef and Harald Sæverud foundation for the promotion of Norwegian music and the visual arts", two years after Marie Hvoslef’s death.

In 1993, the estate and the museum part of the building was transferred to Bergen municipality, and Siljustøl opened as a museum in 1997. Siljustøl is today stewarded by Kode.

The collection from the Sæverud couple includes instruments and music-historical treasures and visual art as well as bits and pieces naturally belonging in a home.

You'll find a broad collection of art and interior objects, furniture from different periods, and personal items like children’s art and gifts.

The study, grand piano and personal belongings are as Harald Sæverud left them when he died in 1992.

The Sæverud couple were enthusiastic art collectors throughout their lifetime and the house is filled with visual art, handicraft, and designer interior.

Norwegian artists Ansgar Larssen and Joronn Sitje are on display and various portraits of Harald and Marie Sæverud—photos, drawings, and paintings—hang in the different rooms.

In the dining room there is a large painting of the couple’s three sons, painted by Bjørn Tvedt during the war years. Daughter-in-law Inger Merethe Sævereud has also produced several paintings.

The ceramics of the time are also very much present in the house, like works from artists such as Norway’s leading ceramist Jens von der Lippe and not least the local ceramist couple Odd and Kari Gjerstad.

You also find children’s art and drawings from their grandchildren around the house.

The couple left a substantial book collection. The publication "Billig mat i krisetider" (“Inexpensive food in times of crisis”) gives us an interesting insight into how the war affected all social classes, as do Marie Hvoslef’s diaries where advice concerning radioactive fallout and first aid are noted.

A part of Sæverud’s manuscripts is placed in the music collection at Bergen Public Library. In addition, an extensive collection of the couple’s papers, letters and sheet music have not yet been fully scientifically examined.