GRONINGEN.- Until 17 March 2013, the Groninger Museum is presenting the collection of the Groningen art collector Reurt Jan Veendorp. The collection consists of more than 400 unique objects including paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and ceramics. The emphasis lies on Dutch art from the second half of the nineteenth and the first decades of the twentieth centuries.

The collection gives pride of place to the painters from The Hague School (Haagse School), such as Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch, Jozef Israëls, Anton Mauve and the three Maris brothers. Art from the generations after The Hague School is represented by the Amsterdam impressionists George Hendrik Breitner and Isaac Israels, and also by Jan Toorop and Johan Dijkstra in slightly different styles. French painting is also represented in this compilation. The exhibition displays a fascinating selection from Veendorp’s marvellous art collection.

High-quality collection
Reurt Jan Veendorp (Appingedam 1905 – Ede 1983) studied drawing, applied art and architecture at Academie Minerva in Groningen, and subsequently worked at the architectural office of A.J. Kropholler in Wassenaar. Besides being an architect, he was also the owner of two brick-manufacturing factories in Groningen. He began collecting art at a very young age. In view of the fact that he did not have abundant income, he could only purchase artworks on a very modest scale. Accordingly, it is even more admirable that he managed to build up a collection that is so consistent, with such high quality. In the course of more than fifty years, with great awareness and affection he bought several hundred paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. Veendorp was a patient man and had an eye for quality. In addition, he knew how to obtain good work from prominent artists.

Loan
The Veendorp Collection is now owned by the J.B. Scholten Foundation in Groningen, which has given it to the Groninger Museum on loan since 1969. Even after this transfer, Mr Veendorp continued to collect art. From the seventies onward, he directed his interests more toward objects from Asia. Veendorp continued to collect art right up to his death in 1983. The J.B. Scholten Foundation has also lent the objects from his later collection to the Groninger Museum.