Tikanoja Art Museum

Works by Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin and many others hung on the walls of Tikanoja’s home. All of them were by no means obvious acquisitions in an Ostrobothnian home. There were large oil painti ...

Works by Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin and many others hung on the walls of Tikanoja’s home. All of them were by no means obvious acquisitions in an Ostrobothnian home. There were large oil paintings even on the walls of the nursery.

In the Tikanoja Art Museum are displayed many domestic and international pearls of the art world, among others works by Picasso and Edelfelt. The Art Museum is perhaps best known for its magnificent collection of French paintings from the late 19th century, but also for its high-class special exhibitions.

The Tikanoja Art Museum is located in the city centre of Vaasa. The museum’s own collections of international and domestic art as well as several special exhibitions are displayed here. The Art Museum’s collection of over 1 000 works includes many central artists in the history of art and some true gems of the art world.

The uniqueness of the collection is emphasized by the fact, that is hasn’t been gathered as a public museum collection but as a private home collection. This is why the Tikanoja collection, as is usually the case with privately formed art collections, has a special character of its own. It tells about the collector’s interest and avocation, it reveals the personality and expertise of its collector and reflects the era, when it was collected.

Commercial counsellor Frithjof Tikanoja donated his art collection to the city of Vaasa in 1951 with the intention, that an art museum would be established in his former home. Frithjof Tikanoja (1877-1964) was raised in modest conditions in a peasant family in Kälviä. He had a successful career as a businessman, but was also a great friend of culture.

In 1905 Tikanoja and Josef Lassila founded the first Finnish-speaking wholesale business in Vaasa, Lassila & Tikanoja. The business expanded into the largest private wholesale business in the country with fabric and grocery store sale. Tikanoja was also active in the steel, newspaper and banking business while at the same time supporting culture and acting as the patron of many young artists, such as Eemu Myntti and Matti Visanti.

The Art Museum is best known for its magnificent collection of foreign art. It includes especially French art from the 19th century and early 20th century. Tikanoja was initially interested in Finnish art and therefore the collections include for instance Finnish art from the 19th century and the turn of the century. Gradually the walls in Tikanoja’s home were covered with precious works, for instance by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Albert Edelfelt, Maria Wiik and Fanny Churberg, as well as Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

For Frithjof Tikanoja all sectors of culture were important. Therefore chamber music concerts and matinées are included in the Art Museum’s programme. Social activity and civilization were essential for Tikanoja, consequently the Art Museum and schools nowadays co-operate tightly.