Gallery
Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection
Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection is a gallery in Massachusetts, United States. 6 works from its collection are in this catalog, including Willem Claesz Heda and David Teniers the Younger.
About Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection
Overview
The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection is one of the world's finest private holdings of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings. Assembled by Dutch collectors Eijk and Rose-Marie de Mol van Otterloo, the collection is not a public museum with its own building but a private assemblage that has been the subject of major exhibitions in the United States, particularly in Massachusetts. The collection is celebrated for its high quality and breadth, featuring works by masters such as Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Jacob van Ruisdael, and has been described as containing masterpieces of extraordinary quality.
History & Founding
Eijk and Rose-Marie de Mol van Otterloo, Dutch collectors based in the United States, began their collecting journey after their marriage in 1974. Initially, they acquired antique carriages and English sporting prints. Their focus shifted to 17th-century Dutch masters following advice from Peter Sutton, a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The collection was further shaped by the guidance of Simon Levie, former director of the Rijksmuseum, and Frits Duparc, former director of the Mauritshuis. Over decades, they acquired 68 exquisite paintings, often waiting years for specific masterpieces to become available.
Collection Highlights & Notable Holdings
The collection includes 68 paintings from the 1600s, spanning portraits, still lifes, landscapes, history paintings, maritime scenes, and genre scenes. Notable works include Rembrandt's 'Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh' (1632), which the collectors describe as the 'jewel in our collection's crown,' and Gerrit Dou's 'Still Life with Sleeping Dog' (1650), acquired as 'love at first sight.' The holdings also feature rare works by Balthasar van der Ast, Ambrosius Bosschaert, and Adrian Coorte, alongside landscapes by Jacob van Ruisdael and seascapes by the Van de Veldes. In 2017, the couple pledged 113 works, including the Rembrandt portrait, to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Exhibitions in Massachusetts
The collection gained significant public attention in Massachusetts through the exhibition 'Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection,' organized by the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem. The exhibition ran from February 26 to June 19, 2011, and was later followed by 'Golden Light, Selections from the Van Otterloo Collection,' which was on view at PEM from August 11, 2012, to May 30, 2014. These exhibitions featured 44 to 68 masterpieces, introducing the private collection to American audiences and receiving tremendous public and critical acclaim.
Legacy & Significance
The Van Otterloo collection is recognized as one of the most important private collections of 17th-century Dutch art in the United States. Its significance was cemented in 2017 when the collectors pledged a joint donation of 113 works by 76 artists to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, along with an endowment to establish the nation's first research center focused on Netherlandish Art. This gift, which includes the Rembrandt 'Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh,' has transformed the MFA into a premier destination for Dutch art, broadening and deepening the museum's holdings with works by artists previously unrepresented in its collection.
Identity & Location Clarification
While the prompt identifies the entity as a 'gallery' in Massachusetts, the sources clarify that the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection is a private collection owned by the couple, who reside in Naples, Florida. The association with Massachusetts stems from the major exhibitions held at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem and the 2017 donation to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The collection does not operate as a standalone public gallery with a permanent building in the state, but rather as a private holding that has been loaned to major institutions for temporary display.
Works from Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection
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Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection
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