Nationalmuseum is the national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm.
The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the National Portrait Gallery collection at Gripshom, the Gustavsberg porcelain museum, several castle collections and the Swedish Institute in Paris (Institut Tessin). In the summer of 2018, Nationalmuseum Jamtli opened in Östersund to exhibit parts of the collection in the north of Sweden.
The museum's benefactors include King Gustav III and Carl Gustaf Tessin. It was founded in 1792 as Kungliga Museet (Royal Museum). The present building was opened in 1866, when it was renamed the Nationalmuseum, and was among the buildings that hosted the 1866 General Industrial Exposition of Stockholm.
The current building, built between 1844 and 1866, was inspired by northern Italian Renaissance architecture. It is the design of the German architect Friedrich August Stüler, who also designed the Neues Museum in Berlin. Despite its relatively closed exterior, the building has a spacious interior dominated by a large flight of stairs leading to the topmost galleries.
The museum was enlarged in 1961 to accommodate the museum workshops, and the museum's current restaurant was opened in 1996. The building closed for renovation in 2013 and reopened on 13 October 2018. The $132 million overhaul was undertaken to allow for more of the museum's collection to be displayed and to deliver the security, accessibility, fire safety and climate control of a modern institution.
Work in progress...