The Oluf Høst Museum

In June 1998 the Oluf Høst Museum opened on the Danish island Bornholm. The island’s great artist Oluf Høst (1884-1966) now has his own museum in Gudhjem – naturally located in the family home “Norresân”, which he built in 1929 and lived in until his death.

Oluf Høst was the only native artist in the group of so called Bornholm painters, which transformed Danish art in the early 1900s. He also exhibited internationally, including New York (1927), the Venice Biennale (1934) and at the World Exhibition in Brussels (1935). The outbreak of the Second World War put an end to his international breakthrough.

The villa Norresân is a wonderful house, which Høst built from two fishermen’s cottages. And when you walk through the large and fascinating rocky garden you realise immediately why Høst loved his home so much. 

This is where he painted many of the paintings, which have made him one of the most famous modern Danish artists.
The rocky garden facing the rocky hill known as “Bokul” is a unique experience. Oluf Høst’s summer studio is at the top of the garden, offering a unique view of Gudhjem. Every year we present a special exhibition here. In the garden you also find the studio, which Oluf Høst gave to his son Ole Wiedemann Høst. Figs and mulberries grow in the garden.

Inside the villa you will find the collection and the annual special exhibition. Oluf Høsts winter studio is placed on the first floor. The museum shop is to be found in the ground floor. In the basement, the museum’s cinema shows a film about Høst’s life and art at regular intervals. Here you will also find toilets, wardrobe and lift.

At the Norresân harbour you find the tiny smokehouse, which was one of Høst’s main motifs in the 1930s. Today the bulding houses Cafe Norresân, and its red colour is changed into white.