Dutch Galleries


Elegant 2nd floor galleries now house the museum's extensive Dutch Collection of Fine & Decorative Arts. On exhibit are fifty-six 17th to 20th century Dutch paintings and more than one hundred and seventy other cultural objects, from fine furniture, Delftware and silver to original Dutch costumes.

For nearly three-quarters of a century, the Netherlands Museum and now the Holland Museum have been recipients of impressive gifts of Dutch culture from donors here and around the world. While many of these gifts were on display, many others languished in storage for lack of gallery space. Wonderful donations of Dutch paintings and the promise of more to come, accelerated plans to create Dutch Galleries on the second floor of the Holland Museum. A cost effective move, it has also been a way to dedicate all three floors of the former post office for public use.

These new galleries now celebrate our shared Dutch heritage that has contributed so much to the community's sense of identity and its success. At the same time, the Museum continues to document and celebrate Holland's diverse history. This dynamic interaction of past and present enables the Holland Museum to fulfill its educational mission of learning from the past to shape the future. In addition, the expanded galleries enhance the attractiveness of West Michigan as a cultural and heritage destination.

Project History

Starting in 2001, an anonymous gift of the 17th-century Dutch Portraits of Cornelis van Beresteyn and Jannetje Berckel by Michiel van Mierevelt was the catalyst for finding gallery space to exhibit Dutch artwork. Then in 2003, Dr. Jan and Mary Ann Beekhuis's donation of what is currently a collection of over two dozen 19th and 20th-century Dutch paintings made new gallery space a necessity.

For most of 2005, museum board members, staff, and a Dutch gallery fundraising committee, headed by local businessmen Jim Brooks and Jim Jurries, developed plans and shared them with potential donors. Plans for the Dutch Galleries Campaign included converting the second floor of the Holland Museum into four large galleries and moving the administrative offices to the newly finished renovated space in the museum-owned Holland Armory. The offices were moved in July of 2006; the galleries were officially opened by Netherlands Ambassador Christiaan Mark Johan Kröner on May 9, 2007.

Tours

To schedule a group tour, please contact our Vistor Services Manager, Carol Brink, at (616) 796-2080.

In the News Exhibition Reviews Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Dutch Ambassador to the U.S., Christiaan Mark Johan Kroner, cuts the ribbon to officially open the New Dutch Galleries on May 9. Assisting him are Erin and Katelyn Murphy, grandchildren of Dr. Jan and Mary Ann Beekhuis, who donated many of the paintings shown in the galleries. Museum President, Joel Lefever, looks on.






    All Rights Reserved 2006 Holland Historical Trust, The Holland Museum, Cappon House Museum and Settlers House Museum. AAM Accredited Museum. Holland, MI USA