Gothenburg (Sweden)

Röhsska Museet / The Röhsska Museum

Sweden was relatively late to build a museum dedicated to applied art and design. A number of similar museums had already been built all across Europe to showcase the best in industrial production and craft creation. The first one was The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, opened in 1852, which was then followed by, among other, Taideteollisuusmuseo (Museum of Art and Design) in Helsinki from 1874, Kunstindustrimuseet in Oslo from 1876, and Kunstindustrimuseet (Design Museum) in Copenhagen from 1890. The starting point for the construction of these museums of craft and design came shortly after the World’s Fair in London 1851. At the fair, the world’s industrial capacity was showcased, but criticism was also strong against what many saw as a lack of artistic quality. There was a concern that industrialisation would wipe out traditional arts and crafts. The museums were established to collect good examples. The idea was that with the right role models, artisans, industrialists, and the public would develop their knowledge and sense of good taste. In this way, they hoped to raise the artistic level of industrial production. Museums were thus often called museums of Art and Industry.