Moderna Museet receives donation for The Second Museum of Our Wishes

Private initiative enables the museum to purchase early 20th century art by women artists. Barbro Osher donates one million dollars.

Moderna Museet is delighted to announce that Barbro Osher, General Consul in San Francisco, has decided to donate one million US dollars to Moderna Museet and The Second Museum of Our Wishes.

On 18 April, Lars Nittve, director of Moderna Museet, made a public request to the Swedish government for an additional allocation of SEK 50 million (nearly 7 million US dollars) on the occasion of the museum’s 50th anniversary in 2008, earmarked for correcting and achieving a more representative gender balance in the museum’s collection of early 20th century art. He urges that now is the right time to acquire some 20 key works to give a more nuanced and correct historic picture.

Barbro Osher: “As a donor I do not want to influence the museum’s acquisitions. But the idea behind The Second Museum of Our Wishes is very interesting. There have been so many exceedingly talented women artists! I also hope this will inspire others to assist in the same way.”

Lars Nittve, Director of Moderna Museet: “This came as a fantastic surprise! We are incredibly pleased with this donation which means we can embark on our plans for The Second Museum of Our Wishes and finally start filling in the gaps relating to women artists from the first half of the 1900s. Naturally, I hope Barbro Osher’s extraordinary donation will be an inspiration to other friends of the museum and the Swedish government!”

Moderna Museet has also, with reference to The Second Museum of Our Wishes received a donation from Birgit Rausing of the oil painting Strangers (1913-14) by Tora Vega Holmström. Moreover, the Hilma af Klint Foundation has decided to let a number of key works by the artist be hung permanently with the Moderna Museet collection.