New donation of Gustaf Munch-Petersen records
Royal Danish Library has received a collection of papers from the poet and painter Gustaf Munch-Petersen (1912-1938). The records complements the library's existing collection of the artist's letters.
Photo: Det Kgl. Bibliotek
Published 11 June 2026 | Revision 03 July 2026
Gustaf Munch-Petersen was a poet, painter and a restless figure in the art world of the interwar period. In November 1937, he travelled to Spain, where he volunteered for the to fight on the side of the Popular Front against General Franco's fascist troops. The following year he was killed in the war, at just 26 years of age.
During his lifeime, his poetry collections were met with lukewarm response from critics, but in the 1950s his writing was rediscovered. Since then, Gustaf Munch-Petersen has come to occupy a central place in Danish literary history.
The newly acquired material includes original manuscripts for the poetry collections "Nitten Digte" (1937), "Udvalgte Digte" (1938), "Solen findes", and "Syv engelske digte". The collection also contains Lisbet Munch-Petersen's handwritten preface and table of contents for "Udvalgte Digte".
The archive further includes personal items, including childhood drawings, a school essay from 1927 and the author's own copy of "Mod Jerusalem" (1934).
The material belonged to Gustaf Munch-Petersen's daughter, the ceramic artist Ursula Munch-Petersen, who died in 2025. It was her wish that the collection should be donated to Royal Danish Library.
The new archive complements the library's existing collection of Gustaf Munch-Petersen, which mainly consists of letters. The newly acquired manuscripts and working papers, it becomes possible to get closer to the poet's working process and the material traces of an artistic career cut tragically short.
The material is now available to request for Royal Danish Library's reading room.