Stained by Nicotine and Cocoa Powder, These Edvard Munch Paintings Hung in a Chocolate Factory Cafeteria for a Century. Now, They're Going on Public Display for the First Time
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Edvard Munch's paintings, created for the Freia chocolate factory cafeteria, will be publicly displayed for the first time at the Munch Museum in Oslo. The artworks, painted in the early 1920s, reflect themes of daily life and the balance between work and leisure. This exhibition highlights the intersection of art, industry, and gender in interwar Norway.
- ▪The paintings were commissioned by Norwegian industrialist Johan Throne Holst to decorate the women's cafeteria at the Freia chocolate factory.
- ▪Munch's works include scenes of young boys fishing and couples enjoying nature, emphasizing life's pleasures outside of work.
- ▪The artworks have been stained by nicotine and cocoa powder after being displayed in the factory for a century.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Stained by Nicotine and Cocoa Powder, These Edvard Munch Paintings Hung in a Chocolate Factory Cafeteria for a Century. Now, They’re Going on Public Display for the First Time Three decades after “The Scream,” the Norwegian artist painted scenes of daily life for the Freia chocolate factory. The artworks will be on display in his namesake museum in Oslo this spring Christian Thorsberg | Daily Correspondent April 28, 2026 ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Girls Watering Flowers (The Freia Frieze IV), Edvard Munch, 1922, will be on display at the Munch Museum beginning in May. Halvor Bjørngård, Munchmuseet A chocolate factory typically produces treats for the tongue. But the historic Freia workshop in Oslo also boasts a feast for the eyes.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Smithsonian Magazine.
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