The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown is hosting a major exhibition titled 'The Scandinavian Home: Art and Identity, 1880-1920' from February 7 to May 17, 2026. The show features over 80 objects, including paintings, textiles, ceramics, and furniture, drawn primarily from the private collection of Dr. David and Susan Werner. It is organized into thematic sections exploring movements like Norwegian Revival, Art Nouveau, Vitalism, and Symbolist Experimentation, showcasing works from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
The exhibition is significant as the first of its kind in North America and holds a special local connection due to the museum's founders, William Henry Singer Jr. and Anna Brugh Singer, who built a home in Norway. It provides a rare opportunity to see Nordic art in dialogue with the museum's own history and collection, highlighting how international artistic developments connected to the founders' engagement with Norwegian landscape and culture. The show also underscores how Scandinavian artists used landscape as a symbol of national identity.