21 March 2019 was a special day in the history of the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte. For 14 years now, the rooms of the historic publishing home of C. F. Peters have housed an exhibition on the life of the Norwegian and "house composer" Grieg, as well as a concert hall in a historic setting. The institution lacked only original exhibits. It is thanks to board member and Grieg scholar Prof. Patrick Dinslage that, with a Grieg portrait by Eilif Peterssen (c. 1891), the first collection piece has now found its way to Leipzig. Until now, the painting had been in the private ownership of Hege Skredsvig, a descendant of the famous Norwegian painter Christian Skredsvig. Peterssen painted it as a preliminary study for the famous portrait that shows Grieg seated on a white chair. The latter hangs today in the Norwegian National Museum in Oslo.
With a ceremonial ritual, the handover of the portrait was celebrated on 21 March. Prof. Dinslage received the guests with an overview talk on the portraits of the composer and also shaped the musical accompanying programme, above all with the Lyric Piece probably best suited to this occasion: "Takk – Dank" (Thanks). Dinslage and Skredsvig then unveiled the picture to great applause. After that, however, the new acquisition went temporarily behind closed doors until proper mounting in the historic rooms could be arranged. Until then, our visitors must still be patient before the portrait can also be viewed in regular museum operation.
The new acquisition was a great event for the association, which we were able to manage only thanks to the generous donations of Verbundnetz Gas AG, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Berlin, the City of Leipzig and the LEIPZIGSTIFTUNG. For this, our heartfelt thanks!