The Hallwyl Collection
Wilhelmina von Hallwyl purchased large quantities of art and antiques during her lifetime. As the collection grew, the idea of establishing a museum took form. When the von Hallwyls moved into No. 4 Hamngatan, Wilhelmina had already decided that the house with its contents would become a museum. The aim, according to her, was “to bring together as rich and diverse a material as possible, illustrative of the culture of my own times as well as of that of earlier times.”
Work on the Hallwyl catalogue began in 1906 under the leadership of Wilhelmina herself and went on for several decades. The catalogue was printed between 1926 and 1956. There were 78 volumes printed in 110 copies.
Private House Became a Museum
The von Hallwyl couple donated the house and the collection at No. 4 Hamngatan to the nation in 1920, but they remained in residence there until their death. Walther passed away in 1921 and Wilhelmina in 1930. The Hallwyl Museum was opened to the public in 1938. Today, the Hallwyl Museum is part of the National Historical Museums, a government agency.
Search the Collections
Our collection is digitized, and we are constantly working to enrich the information about our objects and to increase the number of images. You can search among the images and objects already available in our online database. All information is free to use, and most of the media is licensed under open Creative Commons licenses. Some images depict copyright-protected works; through an extended collective license agreement with Bildupphovsrätt in Sweden (BUS), the National Historical Museums have the right to display these images on Search the Collections.
We share the database with the other museums that are part of the National Historical Museums. Therefore, you will find objects from the Economy Museum, the Hallwyl Museum, the Swedish History Museum, the Royal Armoury, Skokloster Castle, the Tumba Paper Mill Museum, and the Swedish Holocaust Museum in the database.
Free of Charge Pictures with Creative Commons
In the museum's collection database, there is a large image bank. Most of the images are free to use for non-commercial use. The free images are licensed Creative Commons, CC.
Questions about images
If you have questions about our object images email bilder@shm.se
Questions about the collection:
Maria Franzon, Textile conservator,
+46(0)8-402 30 58, maria.franzon@shm.se
Samuel Norrby, curator of The Hallwyl Collection,
+46 (0)8-402 30 95, samuel.norrby@shm.se
Camilla Hjelm, curator of The Hallwyl Collection,
+46 (0)8-5195 57 44, camilla.hjelm@shm.se