A Puzzle with a Hundred Pieces
On 6 January 1924, a Swedish painter boarded a steamer bound for Tórshavn. The next nine months, William Gislander would spend on the Faroe Islands, painting birds all across the Atlantic islands.
During his stay, Gislander produced around one hundred paintings. In the autumn of the same year, he returned to Copenhagen to show his works.
The exhibition opened a window onto the islands and their fauna across the seasons. What had largely remained a blank in the wider public imagination emerged through Gislander’s paintings as a colourful panorama.
It was the first exhibition on the European mainland to present the Faroes as a coherent artistic subject, bringing together paintings from several islands into one body of work.
Yet the year that made the Faroe Islands visible has remained a blind spot in the history of Nordic art. Since 1924, no one has seen the view these works collectively opened onto the islands and their wildlife.
Let’s change this – together!
Help to Reconnect the Paintings
For the time being, there is no dedicated research on Gislander’s stay on the Faroe Islands nor on the body of works that resulted from it. Reconnecting these pieces of the 1924 puzzle and studying them in context lies at the heart of the project.
At present, around 95% of these works must be assumed to remain in private ownership (see the latest statistics here).
The project therefore depends on the support of collectors and citizens. This page provides resources for tracing works from Gislander’s Faroese period. It also shares background information in the form of illustrated stories and research notes.
You can explore them below and be in touch directly at contact@gislander1924.eu .
What’s Next?
The project is currently in an initiating phase.
In summer 2026, a first research stay on the Faroe Islands is carried out, funded through the EU’s Culture Moves Europe scheme and supported by Listasavn Føroya, the National Gallery of the Faroe Islands.
This stay will make it possible to study the local contexts of Gislander’s paintings on site and to develop public events around the search for his works.
This marks the beginning of active public-engagement phase and a systematic search for the current whereabouts of paintings on the islands and beyond. On this basis, the project aims to secure funding to deepen academic and public-facing research.
The goal is to study Gislander’s Faroese paintings in their wider art historical, cultural, and political contexts. This includes working towards a so-called catalogue raisonné, as well as a study of the substantial press response they sparked in 1924.
This research will form the basis for further public-facing formats: illustrated stories such as the ones already appearing on this site, digital tools for studying the paintings and comparing them with there environments today, public events, and, depending on the collaboration of collectors, an exhibition that brings together the 1924 paintings a century later.
About the Author
Bernhard Schirg is a researcher, writer, and filmmaker working at the intersection of art history, cultural history, and environmental humanities.
He holds a PhD in Renaissance Studies and has worked extensively on the afterlives of classical antiquity, northern landscapes, and the ways in which images, texts, and environments shape historical imagination.
In his previous project, Frozen Atlantis, he explored the classical mythologies a 17th-century polymath connected to the mountains and rivers of Sweden. The project developed visual and narrative formats for carrying research beyond academic boundaries – including a theatre play for schoolchildren, a feature-length cinematic essay, and a corresponding public notebook.
Gislander 1924 continues this approach in the Faroe Islands, bringing together art-historical research, public outreach, and visual storytelling.
Acknowledgments
This research has been made possible by many people: museums, libraries, archives, researchers, collectors, and enthusiasts. For support, conversations, and encouragement I am grateful to:
Alexandra Altmark, Eva Lena Bergström, Iben Bruun-Aamodt, Hans Bogi Ellefsen, Camilla Bruun Stolze, Anna Maria Dam Ziska, Silke Calmer Dinesen, Peter Davidson, Karin Elsbudóttir, Helgi Fossadal, Manfred Fuhr, Tomas Granlund, Isabelle Gapp, Ewa Gislander, Solveig Hanusardóttir Olsen, Klas Helmerson, Johan Jinnerot, Peter Holck, Lisbeth Krøll, Håkan Larsson, Emily Lekman, Thomas Lennartson, Björn Märak Leffler, Bengt Modéer, Albert Oost, Maria Louise Sargent, Fredrik Sjöberg, Anna Vestergaard Jørgensen, Kai Villadsen, Olav Villadsen, Pernille Zidore Nygaard.
This research would not have been possible without the support of public institutions. In particular, I would like to thank: Konstbiblioteket in Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket in Copenhagen (and its invaluable service Mediestream), Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm (and its invaluable service Svenska tidningar), and Listasavn Føroya in Tórshavn.
Some contributions to this website, marked as such in the footer, were produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
Contact & Legal Notes
For questions, corrections, or information about works by William Gislander, you can contact us directly at contact@gislander1924.eu.
For information on the use of your contact details please visit the Privacy Policy.
Gislander 1924 is an independent research and outreach project on William Gislander’s 1924 stay on the Faroe Islands. Unless otherwise stated, text and original research © 2026 Bernhard Schirg. Texts, images, video, and other materials may not be reproduced, distributed, published, transmitted, or otherwise used without prior written permission from the rights holder.
Rights of images reproduced here with kind permission remain with the respective rights holders. Reproductions are shown for research, documentation, and outreach purposes; further information or corrections are welcome.
