STOCKHOLM.- In collaboration with the Swedish Institute, Nationalmuseum in Stockholm is loaning some of its most famous works of art to the Second House of Sweden in Second Life. Ever since the 1880s, Nationalmuseum has made loan deposits from its collections to various government bodies and museums. Today there are some 3800 works of art that are on long loans to government premises in Sweden and Swedish embassies abroad.

Paintings and textiles offering links with Sweden and the museum's collections will now be placed in the virtual version of architect Gert Wingårdh's new embassy building in Washington DC. The items to be shown in the virtual embassy are among the best-known works of art at Nationalmuseum. They reflect different epochs in the history of art and the museum's collections of Dutch and French painting from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The Swedish paintings are fine examples from around the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries by Anders Zorn, Ernst Josephson, Hanna Pauli and Prince Eugen. Also on display is "The Lady with the Veil", Alexander Roslin's much loved portrait of his wife, Suzanne Roslin. Various items of 20th century applied arts and design have been selected for display including a rug by Ingegerd Torhamn first shown at the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 and tapestries by Märta Måås-Fjetterström and Helena Hernmarck.

The loan of these works of art to the virtual domain is a new way of presenting art and a new opportunity for Nationalmuseum to provide access to its collections and to arouse an interest in art among new groups of people all over the world.

The Second House of Sweden will be formally inaugurated Wednesday 30 May at 9.00 am CEST (Stockholm), 3:00 am EDT (New York).

Works on loan to the Second House of Sweden: Anders Zorn - Midsummer Dance, Alexander Roslin - The Lady with the Veil, Ernst Josephson - The Water Sprite, Hanna Pauli - Breakfast-Time, François Boucher - The Triumph of Venus, Auguste Renoir - La Grenouillère, Rembrandt - The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis, Prins Eugen - The Cloud (Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde), Ingegerd Torhamn - Rug, Märta Måås Fjetterström - Unicorn in forest, Helena Hernmarck - Newspapers.

Links: The Swedish Institute: www.si.se Second Life: http://secondlife.com