Oluf Høst Museum

The Oluf Høst Museum is a single-artist museum located on Løkkegade Street in Gudhjem, on the Danish island of Bornholm. Dedicated to the painter Oluf Høst (1884-1966), the institution preserves the home and workspaces where he lived and created art from 1929 until his death. As the only native Bornholmer among the painters of the Bornholm school, Høst developed a distinctive style of classic modernism focused on the Nordic themes of light and landscape. The museum exhibits a selection of his paintings alongside his original furnishings, books, and drawings, while also offering biographical films and access to his preserved studios and garden.

The museum was established by converting Høst's former residence, a project that culminated in its opening in June 1998, although its inception dates to 1997. Høst had originally studied in Copenhagen but returned to Bornholm in 1929, settling in Gudhjem for the remainder of his life. The institution continues to operate with the support of a friends association, Oluf Høst Museets Venner, chaired by the artist's grandson, Peter Høst, alongside a board and volunteers who manage the daily operations.

The museum's holdings encompass Høst's paintings, original furniture, books, and drawings. A documentation library preserves his collection of more than 1800 diaries. The permanent exhibition is supplemented by a small cinema showing a film about his life and art, and the summer studio houses an exhibition detailing the story of the artist, his family, and his friends. The museum also occasionally hosts small special exhibitions featuring the works of other painters, such as a 2019 exhibition of Karl Isakson, placing them in dialogue with Høst's art. However, several of Høst's better-known works are exhibited six kilometers northwest at the Bornholm Art Museum rather than at this site.

Among the specific works in the museum's collection is Høst's 1907 self-portrait. The museum's broader significance lies in its preservation of the artist's working environments. Høst frequently painted the Bognemark farmhouse near Gudhjem, depicting it roughly 200 times from 1935 onward under varying conditions and seasons. He also repeatedly painted the tiny smokehouse at Nørresand Harbour. These motifs, characterized by sunsets, twilight, moonlit nights, summer bathers, and wintry sea views, form the core of the Scandinavian light and mood depictions that define his work, which was inspired by Cézanne but remained distinctly Nordic in execution.

The museum is situated in a large house named Norresân, a title derived from the nearby Nørresand Havn harbor at the western end of Gudhjem. The building occupies a site on the northern edge of town where two fishermen's homes once stood, near the beach and at an elevation of 19 meters. Høst expanded and inhabited the house from 1929 onward. The property features three studios: one inside the house, a second in the rocky garden, and a third, his summer studio, positioned higher up the steep garden behind the house. From this garden, Høst painted many of his works, taking in views over the rocky outcrop known as Bokul, and it was in the summer atelier at the top of the garden that he painted his famous designs from 1920 to 1960.

The Oluf Høst Museum is located at Løkkegade 35 in Gudhjem, within the Bornholm regional municipality. It is open seven days a week to visitors. The site offers amenities including a small cafe in the garden and two playhouses for children. The museum's grounds, including the steep garden and the hillside atelier, are open to the public alongside the main building, allowing visitors to experience the physical environment that inspired much of the artist's work.