Collection Halvdan Hafsten
This collection contains 208 paintings, drawings and watercolours by eight artists who were active during the Norwegian interwar period.
Halvdan Hafsten (1905-1990) started his collecting activity in the 1930s. His interest was primarily in art of his own generation, that is, from artists born in the early 1900s. He had a wide network of contacts amongst such artists. As his collection grew, he regularly made changes, both as regards the artists he focused on and in buying and selling individual works. The collection ultimately concentrated on eight artists:
Arne Ekeland (1908-1994), Reidar Aulie (1904-1977), Harald Dal (1902-1972), Kai Fjell (1907-1989), Erling Enger (1899-1990), Ragnar Kraugerud (1909-1987), Alexander Schultz (1901-1981), og Thorbjørn Lie-Jørgensen (1900-1961).
These artists are represented in the collection through works made using different techniques, but Hafsten’s objective was to give as comprehensive an impression as possible of their artistic practice. To fulfil this goal, he began in the 1930s to make a documentational archive; he deliberately and meticulously collected all relevant information about the artists and his collection.
The Halvdan Hafsten Collection was bequeathed to Stavanger Faste Galleri in 1984 and was a decisive factor in the decision to build the museum’s current building in the park Mosvannsparken. It opened in 1992.
