Welcome to an eclectic artist’s home and a distinctive collection.

Through the Singer collection in KODE 1, you will become familiar with the history of the art collectors William (1868-1943) and Anna Brugh Singer (1878-1962) and their summer home in Olden.

The affluent American couple travelled frequently to Europa and eventually settled in Laren in The Netherlands. After visiting Norway they became enraptured by the Norwegian landscapes and chose Olden in Nordfjord as their permanent summer destination from 1913 until their deaths. In 1921 they erected Villa Dalheim, a large estate with a guesthouse and a model farm, including a barn and greenhouse. The Singers ran a large household with servants and numerous friends staying with them. In the village of Olden they were viewed as a curiosity, but the Singers also created jobs for the community and gave generously to various causes in the district.

The main building was filled with art and antiques: both traditional art and paintings and sculptures created by their artist friends. William was an artist himself, and he built a studio and painted predominantly landscapes, in a Late-Impressionist style.

Anna Brugh Singer bequeathed furniture, antiques and pictures to Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum, and in 1963 the museum opened its first presentation of the Singer Collection. Here in this room we have once again recreated an impression of the Singers’ home in Olden.