Riihimäki Art Museum

Riihimäki Art Museum was founded in 1994. The founding was made possible by Mr Pentti Wähäjärvi (1912-1999), an antique and art dealer who donated his outstanding collection to the City of Riihimäki in 1993 together with his wife Tatjana.

Riihimäki Art Museum operates in a state office block built in 1963. The building has been renovated to meet the requirements of a modern art museum, and it was opened for public in 1995.  On the ground floor the entrance opens up into a high central hall. The exhibition space covers two floors around the central court which provides a logical direction arrangement.

The Tatjana and Pentti Wähäjärvi Collection

The collection donated by Tatjana and Pentti Wähäjärvi includes a good 2000 pieces of art and other objects. The core of the collection is Finnish art, in particular from the years 1900-1970.

In addition to Finnish art, the collection contains foreign paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as European graphics mainly from the period between 1950 and 1970.

Antiquities

The collections of objects mainly contain porcelain and ceramics. Chinese objects form the largest entity, but also European porcelain and ceramics are represented. The collection also contains tin and copper objects, icons and furniture.

Exhibitions

Riihimäki Art Museum organises both national and international exhibitions of various types of visual art. The exhibition of the Wähäjärvi Collection is also regularly changed, because the collection is too large for all items to be shown simultaneously.