Norwegian billionaire establishes trust fund for art

Norwegian businessman and art collector Hans Rasmus Astrup has decided to transfer his most central companies to a charitable foundation that will supports cultural projects, including the Astrup Fearnley collection in Oslo.

Astrup's intention is to secure a stabile and long-term ownership in the Astrup Fearnley group, and as result build the foundation for the further development of existing core values as well as new projects.

The 74-year-old business man is one of Norway's richest men, and is valued at well over NOK 4,7 billion. Astrup is the sole owner and chairman of one of the world's leading shipping firms, but most of all he is known as an art collector with a collection at a very high international level.

Much of his collection is already on display at the Astrup Fearnley museum at Tjuvholmen in Oslo, designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano. The collection has so far this year had more than 175 000 visitors.

The new foundation's guidelines describe that the money can be used to buy both international and Norwegian modern art. The condition is that the art must be available to display as part of the Astrup Fearnley Collection, so that the pieces can also be accessible for the public.

(Aftenposten)