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Art Foundation Merita
The Art Foundation Merita was established on 15 March 2002 by Merita Bank, Nordea Bank Finland’s predecessor, which donated 491 of its art works to the foundation. By donating these works Nordea/Merita wanted to secure that works from its collection deemed national treasures remain in Finland regardless of changes in ownership or future developments in the financial sector.
The emphasis of the Art Foundation Merita collection is on seminal works of national significance from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, but as a whole the collection forms a remarkable cross-section of Finnish fine arts covering a period of two centuries. The collection’s oldest piece, Alexander Lauréus’ Fruit Seller, dates from 1810 and the most recent Timo Sarpaneva’s Stabat Mater from 1999. Apart from oil paintings the collection comprises watercolours, prints, sculptures, and even two Ryijy rugs: one by Eliel Saarinen, the other by Laila Pullinen.
The collection’s better known pieces include Lament of the Boat (1907) and C.G. Mannerheim (1929) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela; Helene Schjerfbeck’s At the Door of Linköping Jail in 1600 (1882), as well as Silence (1907).
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