The official handover of the largest gift in the museum’s recent history took place on Friday 15 April 2011 in the Frans Hals Museum.
The Elisabeth van Thüringen Fund is donating eleven works of art from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries to the City of Haarlem and the Frans Hals Museum. Among the works there is a large and rare group portrait by Frans Hals. The total value of the gift is at least €100 million. The works can be seen in the exhibition ‘A Magnificent Gesture’ until 10 July.
The works, including the spectacular group portraits of the Regents and Regentesses of St Elisabeth’s or Groote Hospital by Frans Hals and Johannes Verspronck, have been hanging in the Frans Hals Museum for some time on loan from the Elisabeth van Thüringen Fund. The trustees of this fund are the direct descendants of the men and women portrayed in the paintings by Hals and Verspronck. Thanks to the extraordinarily generous gift from the Elisabeth van Thüringen Fund the most important works from this collection are now the property of the City of Haarlem and part of the museum’s collection. Director Karel Schampers of the Frans Hals Museum said, ‘A greater or more interesting gift is almost inconceivable – if for no other reason than that iconic group portraits like these by Hals and Verspronck are all in museum collections and will never come on to the market.’
Image: Frans Hals Museum
Frans Hals Museum Groot Heiligland 62 2011 ES Haarlem P.O.Box 3365 2001 DJ Haarlem ++31 23 5115775
www.franshalsmuseum.nl