Stedelijk Museum
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (lit. Municipal Museum Amsterdam) is a museum for classic modern
and contemporary art
in Amsterdam
in the Netherlands
. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum
, Van Gogh Museum
and the Concertgebouw
, in Amsterdam Zuid since 1895. The original red brick, Neo-Renaissance
style building was designed by architect Adriaan Willem Weissman. The museum is currently being renovated and enlarged, and expects the grand reopening in 2012.
The collection contains some 90,000 objects from a variety of disciplines. Highlights of the collection include The Beanery by Edward Kienholz
and works by Kazimir Malevich
, Bauhaus
and De Stijl
. Since 1909, the Stedelijk has been devoted to collecting thought-provoking contemporary art, later augmenting its collection with photography and design objects. In the course of the last century, the Stedelijk Museum became renowned as one of the world's most influential museums for twentieth-century art. The collection rivals that of the Centre Pompidou and MoMA
.
Since its inception, the Stedelijk Museum has consistently reflected new currents and developments in art and design in both its exhibition
and acquisitions policy. Today, education is a prominent aspect of museum policy, which is evident from the Stedelijk's emphasis on innovative and classic modern presentations. The Bertolt Brecht
quotation "It is democratic to turn 'the small circle of connoisseurs' into a large circle of connoisseurs" embodies the Stedelijk's vision.
, Bauhaus
, Pop Art
and CoBrA
and, more recently, Neo-Impressionism
, the collection represents virtually every significant movement in art and design of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Stedelijk also has a comprehensive collection of drawings and paintings by Kazimir Malevich. Key pieces by Post-Impressionists
Paul Cézanne
and Vincent van Gogh
exemplify art from the late 19th century. The collection is sub-divided into the following disciplines:
building designed by architect Adriaan Willem Weissman. The construction was financed by dowager S.A. Lopez Suasso-de Bruyn and the heirs of the merchant banker C.P. van Eeghen, among others. They bequeathed their collections to the museum. The building housed a number of collections including militaria of the Amsterdam militia, Asiatic art, the Museum of Chronometry and the Medical-Pharmaceutical Museum. The Association for Forming a Public Collection of Contemporary Art also regularly held exhibitions here.
, Marc Chagall
, Wassily Kandinsky
and Pablo Picasso
. In 1934, the Museum for Modern Applied Art was also housed in the same building. Today, the Stedelijk has one of the world's finest collections of art and design objects, with groundbreaking designers including Marcel Wanders
, Ettore Sottsass
and Studio Job
. During the Second World War, the Stedelijk collection and that of the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, were transferred for safekeeping to a bunker in the sand-hills near Santpoort. Museum staff took turns keeping watch. Director Willem Sandberg
only just managed to evade arrest; in 1943, when a German search party was sent to apprehend him, Sandberg fled by bicycle into the dunes. Despite the upheavals of war, the Stedelijk continued to hold exhibitions.
and Henri Matisse
were added to the collection at the end of the 1940s and 1950s. During this time, the Stedelijk also acquired artworks by De Stijl
and related international movements such as Russian Constructivism
and Bauhaus
. In 1954, the annex known as the 'Sandberg Wing' was built to accommodate experimental art; the annex was demolished in 2006. The demolition got off to a symbolic start: council member Carolien Gehrels threw a stone through one of the windows, causing a storm of protest in the press. The museum's famous CoBrA
collection, dating from the 1950s, was augmented, and is now one of the museum's rich and exciting core collections.
In 1958, Sandberg acquired a unique group of works by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich
. In the same year, Sandberg began acquiring photography for the museum’s collection; the Stedelijk was the first western European museum for modern art
to collect photography. The collection includes seminal photographers of both the Dutch and international avant-garde
in the interbellum period (such as Erwin Blumenfeld
, László Moholy-Nagy
and Man Ray
), an extensive selection of post-war Dutch photographers (including Eva Besnyö, Ed van der Elsken
and Cas Oorthuys), artist portraits, photojournalism
and autonomous fine art photography from the 1970s onward.
, the Color Field painting of Barnett Newman
and the sculpture of minimalist artist Carl Andre
, while Pop Art
flourished with artists such as Robert Rauschenberg
, Jasper Johns
, Roy Lichtenstein
and Andy Warhol
.
Video art
was also coming into its own and, in the early 1970s, the museum made its first acquisitions of video work by European artists including Dibbets and Gilbert & George. Today, the collection of video art contains around 900 works and installations by Nam June Paik
, Bill Viola
and Bruce Nauman
. In the 1980s and 1990s, the accent shifted to include South America and, with the fall of the Berlin Wall
, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
. Ilya Kabakov
's impression of a Russian school library, Skolnaje Biblijoteka (1995), is one such example. In 2001, a remarkable group of drawings by Kazimir Malevich and other Russian avant-garde artists from the collection of the Khardzhiev-Chaga Cultural Centre enriched the museum's collection of Russian art.
At the end of 2003, the Adriaan Willem Weissman building was closed at the insistence of the fire department and renovation work could begin. The Stedelijk took up temporary residence in the Post CS Building where it would remain for 4.5 years, until the building had to be returned, empty and stripped. [2] The SMCS period was one of great activity and a profusion of exhibitions. In 2006, debates and lectures were organized in the context of the exhibition 'Mapping the City' which explored the relationship of artists to the city. A space was created – 'Docking Station' – for monthly presentations of work by emerging artists. In 2008, 'Other voices, other rooms', an exhibition highlighting the video work of Andy Warhol
, was a huge success, drawing 600,000 visitors. 2005 marked another watershed during this time, when the museum established a partnership with The Broere Charitable Foundation; on behalf of the Monique Zajfen Collection, the museum acquires contemporary European art works, which are placed with the museum on long-term loan.
, Kazimir Malevich
, Charley Toorop, Henri Matisse
, Donald Judd
, Willem De Kooning
, Yves Klein
and Bruce Nauman
, among others. As selections from the collections are presented on a rotating basis, returning visitors will have the opportunity to see different works over the coming months. Distinctive aspects of the collection are highlighted in two thematic presentations: Recollections and TV as….
To encourage exploration and expand upon the content of the exhibition, the Stedelijk will continue its multi-faceted program of activities and events comprising lectures, symposia, performances, film evenings and other events.
To date the museum is still under reconstruction and a date for the official reopening has still not been announced, however the temporary programmes give visitors a chance to experience art in the Stedelijk's historic settings.
Exhibitions
From 11-08-’08 through 12-10-’08. With work by Dutch printer, artist print-maker and typographer H.N. Werkman. Guest venue: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Religion and spirituality in modern art. From 13-12-’08 through 19-04-’09. With work by Mondriaan, Malevich, Chagall, Schnabel, Rothko, Bacon, Gilbert & George, Mike Kelley and Marlene Dumas. Guest venue: Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam;
From 26-06-’09 through 23-08-’09. With work by Pablo Picasso, Mondriaan, Luciano Fontana, Yves Klein, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol and others. Guest venue: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam;
From 24-10-'09 through 01-11-'09. With work by Peter Bogers, Sam Taylor Wood, Marijke van Warmerdam, Douglas Gordon, Ulay and Marina Abramovic and Job Koelewijn. Guest venue: Huize Frankendael, Amsterdam
Visibly absent
A collaborative project of the Stedelijk Museum, the Rietveld Academy and the Sandberg Institute. Students respond to iconic works from the Stedelijk collection; the results are visible at unexpected locations throughout the city.
Conservator and first head of the Stedelijk Museum. Designed the period rooms and the presentation of the collection of militaria of the Amsterdam militia in the museum.
Conservator and head as per 1905; officially became director in 1920. Founder of the municipal collection of modern contemporary art and design. Devised a dynamic exhibition policy and forged connections with important lending institutions.
Modernized the museum, hosted large-scale, international exhibitions, purchased a number of extraordinary international modern artworks and adroitly steered the museum through the period of German occupation.
Progressive exhibition-maker, graphic designer, collector of international (classic) modern and contemporary art. Made exhibitions about design early on, with Mart Stam, Gerrit Rietveld and others and as conservator, long before his directorship, had the interior walls of the museum painted white. Sandberg’s forward-thinking policy secured his international reputation as the Stedelijk’s most charismatic leader.
Reorganized and professionalized what had, up to then, been a somewhat anarchic museum; focused on contemporary art of the 1960s onward. Besides an intensive contemporary art exhibition policy, he organized groundbreaking, exciting exhibitions of western European and American art of his time.
Emphasized art from the USSR, eastern Europe and Latin America. His exhibition program highlighted emerging American art, art historical themes and artists of the pre-war avant-garde like Oskar Schlemmer and Malevich. He also developed a versatile acquisition policy. Beeren drew up the first plans for expanding the museum, with firm of architects Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates.
Presented the collection in the exhibition series ‘Couplets’; Fuchs displayed the works in an a-historical, lyrical-associative dialogue that was applauded by the international art community. He continued the acquisition policy of De Wilde and Beeren, expanding it to include Central European art. He developed collection presentations with a number of guest curators including Dutch poet and writer Gerrit Komrij and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Fuchs commissioned Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza to develop new expansion plans for the Stedelijk Museum.
Prepared the museum for attaining independent status and, after the closure of the historic building on the Paulus Potterstraat, found temporary alternative premises near Amsterdam Central Station: the SMCS. During his tenure, the expansion plans and the selection of Benthem Crouwel Architects became definitive.
Under his directorship, the internal organization of the museum became more professional and more oriented towards the public. He injected new impetus into the acquisition and exhibition program and ensured that programming in the SMCS reflected current trends in contemporary art. When the SMCS closed in 2008 and until the reopening of the museum, he maintained the Stedelijk’s visible presence in the city with a dynamic program in a variety of locations, and with the Construction Cabin (part of the project Stedelijk goes to Town) which traveled through Amsterdam.
The first international director of the Stedelijk, and the first woman at the helm.
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
, Van Gogh Museum
Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, featuring the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world.-Background:...
and the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, in Amsterdam Zuid since 1895. The original red brick, Neo-Renaissance
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
style building was designed by architect Adriaan Willem Weissman. The museum is currently being renovated and enlarged, and expects the grand reopening in 2012.
The collection contains some 90,000 objects from a variety of disciplines. Highlights of the collection include The Beanery by Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz was an American installation artist whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled much of his artwork in close collaboration with his artistic partner and wife, Nancy Reddin Kienholz...
and works by Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...
, Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
and De Stijl
De Stijl
De Stijl , propagating the group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian , Vilmos Huszár , and Bart van der Leck , and the architects Gerrit Rietveld , Robert van 't Hoff , and J.J.P. Oud...
. Since 1909, the Stedelijk has been devoted to collecting thought-provoking contemporary art, later augmenting its collection with photography and design objects. In the course of the last century, the Stedelijk Museum became renowned as one of the world's most influential museums for twentieth-century art. The collection rivals that of the Centre Pompidou and MoMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
.
Since its inception, the Stedelijk Museum has consistently reflected new currents and developments in art and design in both its exhibition
Exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
and acquisitions policy. Today, education is a prominent aspect of museum policy, which is evident from the Stedelijk's emphasis on innovative and classic modern presentations. The Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
quotation "It is democratic to turn 'the small circle of connoisseurs' into a large circle of connoisseurs" embodies the Stedelijk's vision.
Collection
The museum collection holds almost 90,000 objects (current on 25 February 2010), collected since 1874. With important clusters and cores focusing on De StijlDe Stijl
De Stijl , propagating the group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian , Vilmos Huszár , and Bart van der Leck , and the architects Gerrit Rietveld , Robert van 't Hoff , and J.J.P. Oud...
, Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
, Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
and CoBrA
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
and, more recently, Neo-Impressionism
Neo-impressionism
Neo-impressionism was coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat’s greatest masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, marked the beginning of this movement when it first made its appearance at an exhibition...
, the collection represents virtually every significant movement in art and design of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Stedelijk also has a comprehensive collection of drawings and paintings by Kazimir Malevich. Key pieces by Post-Impressionists
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
and Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
exemplify art from the late 19th century. The collection is sub-divided into the following disciplines:
- Painting 4,395
- Sculpture 1,654
- InstallationInstallation artInstallation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
211 - Moving image and sound 622
- Prints and drawings 19,678
- Posters 19,322
- Photography 10,880
- Graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
19,450 - Industrial designIndustrial designIndustrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
5,322 - Artist books 4,253
- LucebertLucebertLucebert was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement.He was born in Amsterdam in 1924...
archive 122
Highlights
The museum collection holds a number of outstanding artworks.| Artist | Title | Year | Materials | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Kienholz | The Beanery. | 1965 | Assemblage Assemblage (art) Assemblage is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects... |
|
| Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th... |
La Montagne Sainte-Victoire. | ca. 1888 | Oil on canvas |  |
| Gerrit Rietveld Gerrit Rietveld Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in... |
Red and Blue chair. | 1918–1923 | Painted and lacquered wood |  |
| Henri Matisse Henri Matisse Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter... |
La perruche et la sirène. | 1952 / 1953 | Collage Collage A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.... on paper mounted on canvas |
|
| Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:... |
Hieratic suprematist cross. | 1920–1927 | Oil on canvas | |
| Marlene Dumas Marlene Dumas Marlene Dumas is a South African born artist and painter who lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Stressing both the physical reality of the human body and its psychological value, Dumas tends... |
Barbie (With Pearl Necklace). | 1997 | Color lithograph on paper | |
| Marcel Duchamp Marcel Duchamp Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art... |
La boîte-en-valise. | 1936-1941 / 1941-1949 | Assemblage Assemblage (art) Assemblage is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects... |
|
| Barnett Newman Barnett Newman Barnett Newman was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters.-Early life:... |
Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III. | 1967–1968 | Oil on canvas | |
| Rineke Dijkstra Rineke Dijkstra Rineke Dijkstra is a female Dutch photographer.-Life and work:Dijkstra concentrates on single portraits, and usually works in series, looking at groups such as adolescents, clubbers, and soldiers. Her subjects are often shown standing, facing the camera, against a minimal background... |
Kolobrzeg, Polen, 26 juli 1992. | 1992 | Color photographic print on paper mounted on aluminum | |
| Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof | De Parelhoenders. | 1894 / ca. 1900-1902 | Carved wood and batik-printed calico | |
| Ettore Sottsass Ettore Sottsass Ettore Sottsass was an Italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting and office machine design.-Early career:... |
Mi Accordo. | 1992 | Poured, glazed ceramics | |
| Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the... |
Femme assise au chapeau en forme de poisson. | 1942 | Oil on canvas | |
| Auguste Rodin Auguste Rodin François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past... |
Jean d’Aire. | 1884–1886 | Cast bronze Bronze Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal... |
|
| Man Ray Man Ray Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal... |
Noire et blanche. | 1926–1928 | Silver gelatin print | |
| Ron Arad Ron Arad (industrial designer) Ron Arad is an Israeli industrial designer, artist, and architect.-Biography:Arad attended the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem between 1971–73 and the Architectural Association in London from 1974–79... |
Oh void 2. | 2004 | ||
| Jackson Pollock Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and... |
Reflection of the Big Dipper. | 1947 | Oil on canvas | |
| Andy Warhol Andy Warhol Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art... |
Mao. | 1972 | Lithographic print on paper | |
| Piet Mondriaan | Composition no. IV , with red, blue and yellow. | 1929 | Oil on canvas | |
| Marina Abramovic Marina Abramovic Marina Abramović is a Belgrade-born New York-based Serbian performance artist who began her career in the early 1970s. Active for over three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and... - Ulay Ulay Ulay , real name Frank Uwe Laysiepen is an important performance artist of the late 60s and the 70s.In all his works the central content is the relationship of body, space and society... |
Breathing out - Breathing in (performance 10). | 1977 | Video | |
| A.M. Cassandre | Droste Cacao. | ca.1929 | Enameled metal |
1895-1908
The Stedelijk Museum opened its doors in 1895, in the Neo-RenaissanceNeo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
building designed by architect Adriaan Willem Weissman. The construction was financed by dowager S.A. Lopez Suasso-de Bruyn and the heirs of the merchant banker C.P. van Eeghen, among others. They bequeathed their collections to the museum. The building housed a number of collections including militaria of the Amsterdam militia, Asiatic art, the Museum of Chronometry and the Medical-Pharmaceutical Museum. The Association for Forming a Public Collection of Contemporary Art also regularly held exhibitions here.
1909-1945
The museum first began to collect art in 1909. P.A. Regnault donated a number of pieces by renowned artists such as Georges BraqueGeorges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics...
and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. In 1934, the Museum for Modern Applied Art was also housed in the same building. Today, the Stedelijk has one of the world's finest collections of art and design objects, with groundbreaking designers including Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders is a Dutch product and interior designer, who drew international recognition for his Knotted Chair produced by Droog in 1996.- Life :...
, Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass was an Italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting and office machine design.-Early career:...
and Studio Job
Studio job
Studio Job is a design studio based in Antwerp. Items designed by Studio Job have been shown in museums and galleries around the world, and have won many design awards.- Designers :...
. During the Second World War, the Stedelijk collection and that of the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, were transferred for safekeeping to a bunker in the sand-hills near Santpoort. Museum staff took turns keeping watch. Director Willem Sandberg
Willem Sandberg
Jonkheer Willem Jacob Henri Berend Sandberg known as Willem Sandberg was a Dutch typographer and museum curator.He was born in Amersfoort, Holland in 1897 and studied art in Amsterdam. He became a follower of the Mazdaznan movement. As a young man he travelled, serving as an apprentice to a...
only just managed to evade arrest; in 1943, when a German search party was sent to apprehend him, Sandberg fled by bicycle into the dunes. Despite the upheavals of war, the Stedelijk continued to hold exhibitions.
1945-1960
Outstanding works by Ernst Ludwig KirchnerErnst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a...
and Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
were added to the collection at the end of the 1940s and 1950s. During this time, the Stedelijk also acquired artworks by De Stijl
De Stijl
De Stijl , propagating the group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian , Vilmos Huszár , and Bart van der Leck , and the architects Gerrit Rietveld , Robert van 't Hoff , and J.J.P. Oud...
and related international movements such as Russian Constructivism
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
and Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
. In 1954, the annex known as the 'Sandberg Wing' was built to accommodate experimental art; the annex was demolished in 2006. The demolition got off to a symbolic start: council member Carolien Gehrels threw a stone through one of the windows, causing a storm of protest in the press. The museum's famous CoBrA
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
collection, dating from the 1950s, was augmented, and is now one of the museum's rich and exciting core collections.
In 1958, Sandberg acquired a unique group of works by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...
. In the same year, Sandberg began acquiring photography for the museum’s collection; the Stedelijk was the first western European museum for modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
to collect photography. The collection includes seminal photographers of both the Dutch and international avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
in the interbellum period (such as Erwin Blumenfeld
Erwin Blumenfeld
Erwin Blumenfeld was a famous American photographer of German origin.In the 1930s, he published collages mocking Adolf Hitler. In 1936, he emigrated to Paris. With the German occupation, he was interned in a concentration camp in 1940 because he was Jewish...
, László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
and Man Ray
Man Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
), an extensive selection of post-war Dutch photographers (including Eva Besnyö, Ed van der Elsken
Ed van der Elsken
Eduard "Ed" van der Elsken was a Dutch photographer and filmmaker.His imagery provides quotidian, intimate and autobiographic perspectives on the European zeitgeist spanning the period of the Second World War into the nineteen-seventies in the realms of love, sex, art, music , and alternative...
and Cas Oorthuys), artist portraits, photojournalism
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
and autonomous fine art photography from the 1970s onward.
1960-2008
In the 1960s, New York became the most influential international centre for the fine arts. Museums began exhibiting the Abstract Expressionist work of Willem de KooningWillem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, the Color Field painting of Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters.-Early life:...
and the sculpture of minimalist artist Carl Andre
Carl Andre
Carl Andre is an American minimalist artist recognized for his ordered linear format and grid format sculptures. His sculptures range from large public artworks to more intimate tile patterns arranged on the floor of an exhibition space Carl Andre (born September 16, 1935) is an American...
, while Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
flourished with artists such as Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
, Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.
Video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
was also coming into its own and, in the early 1970s, the museum made its first acquisitions of video work by European artists including Dibbets and Gilbert & George. Today, the collection of video art contains around 900 works and installations by Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, Bill Viola
Bill Viola
Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
and Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
. In the 1980s and 1990s, the accent shifted to include South America and, with the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Ilya Kabakov
Ilya Kabakov
Ilya Kabakov, Russian Илья́ Ио́сифович Кабако́в , is a Russian-American conceptual artist of Jewish descent, born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. He worked for thirty years in Moscow, from the 1950s until the late 1980s. He now lives and works on Long Island...
's impression of a Russian school library, Skolnaje Biblijoteka (1995), is one such example. In 2001, a remarkable group of drawings by Kazimir Malevich and other Russian avant-garde artists from the collection of the Khardzhiev-Chaga Cultural Centre enriched the museum's collection of Russian art.
At the end of 2003, the Adriaan Willem Weissman building was closed at the insistence of the fire department and renovation work could begin. The Stedelijk took up temporary residence in the Post CS Building where it would remain for 4.5 years, until the building had to be returned, empty and stripped. [2] The SMCS period was one of great activity and a profusion of exhibitions. In 2006, debates and lectures were organized in the context of the exhibition 'Mapping the City' which explored the relationship of artists to the city. A space was created – 'Docking Station' – for monthly presentations of work by emerging artists. In 2008, 'Other voices, other rooms', an exhibition highlighting the video work of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, was a huge success, drawing 600,000 visitors. 2005 marked another watershed during this time, when the museum established a partnership with The Broere Charitable Foundation; on behalf of the Monique Zajfen Collection, the museum acquires contemporary European art works, which are placed with the museum on long-term loan.
2008 - 2009
From late 2008, the Stedelijk was undergoing major construction and described as a 'museum without walls'. In responding to this situation, an innovative and dynamic project, 'Stedelijk goes to Town' was announced allowing the museum to continue its strong visual presence within the city of Amsterdam. The project ran until the latter half of 2009 and featured a series of workshops, lectures and presentations in various locations throughout Amsterdam.Temporary Stedelijk
In August 2010 until January 2011, the Stedelijk Museum opened its doors with a unique program called The Temporary Stedelijk in the restored, yet unfinished historical building. After the success of welcoming 'art, artists and the public' back through its doors, the Stedelijk has continued with this temporary program announcing, Temporary Stedelijk 2-which opened March 2011 and focuses on the renowned collection of modern and contemporary art and design. The exhibition showcases the breadth of the museum’s collection and on show are works by Piet MondrianPiet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
, Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...
, Charley Toorop, Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
, Donald Judd
Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism . In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy...
, Willem De Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, Yves Klein
Yves Klein
Yves Klein was a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. He is the leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany...
and Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
, among others. As selections from the collections are presented on a rotating basis, returning visitors will have the opportunity to see different works over the coming months. Distinctive aspects of the collection are highlighted in two thematic presentations: Recollections and TV as….
To encourage exploration and expand upon the content of the exhibition, the Stedelijk will continue its multi-faceted program of activities and events comprising lectures, symposia, performances, film evenings and other events.
To date the museum is still under reconstruction and a date for the official reopening has still not been announced, however the temporary programmes give visitors a chance to experience art in the Stedelijk's historic settings.
Augmented Reality tours
In early 2010, in conjunction with multidisciplinary communications and design firm Fabrique and AR company Layar the Stedelijk launches the development of augmented reality tours or 'ARtours'. Using a smartPhone, visitors can enjoy all kinds of extra stories and visuals about the museum collection. In the final phase of the project (at the end of 2011), the public will be invited to add their own stories, photos and other information about the collection to the open source platform.Digital Archive Material
The museum embarks on digitalizing its historical archives (1895–1980) in 2009. The archives contain correspondence from the directors and details about exhibitions and acquisitions, among other things. It comprises some 1,500,000 documents distributed over 7,000 files. The paper archive has been officially transferred to the Amsterdam city archive but will remain with the Stedelijk throughout the digitalization process. The use of state-of-the-art software provides full text searches of all documents; a systematic index relating to different topics will be provided on the cover of each document. Fuzzy logic will search for a document matching the given terms and some variation around them, so users will find the information they want without needing to enter precise search commands. For example, a search for details of an exhibition on the library site will retrieve the accompanying catalogue, plus documents that have been scanned into the archive. The information can be printed or saved in PDF format. This large-scale project began in November 2009 and will continue for three years. The project is part of a larger digitalization plan that, apart from the archive, involves digitalizing and making accessible visual material, moving image and Stedelijk publications. In all cases digitally reformatted or born-digital material will be offered through a variety of search portals and in different combinations, on or off the Stedelijk website.Stedelijk goes to Town
With the groundbreaking project 'Stedelijk goes to Town', the museum without walls struck out in an entirely different direction between 2008 and 2010. While at the Post CS building, the museum began to explore and redefine its relationship with its communities. This found expression in a number of (exploratory) exhibitions such as 'Mapping the Studio'. 'Stedelijk goes to Town' is a continuation of this program. The museum also remained a visible presence with exhibitions of highlights from the collection in different locations, often as the guest of other museums in Amsterdam.Exhibitions
- ‘Druksel prints’ by Werkman
From 11-08-’08 through 12-10-’08. With work by Dutch printer, artist print-maker and typographer H.N. Werkman. Guest venue: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
- Holy Inspiration
Religion and spirituality in modern art. From 13-12-’08 through 19-04-’09. With work by Mondriaan, Malevich, Chagall, Schnabel, Rothko, Bacon, Gilbert & George, Mike Kelley and Marlene Dumas. Guest venue: Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam;
- Avantgardes ‘20/’60
From 26-06-’09 through 23-08-’09. With work by Pablo Picasso, Mondriaan, Luciano Fontana, Yves Klein, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol and others. Guest venue: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam;
- The Living, 10 days of video art
From 24-10-'09 through 01-11-'09. With work by Peter Bogers, Sam Taylor Wood, Marijke van Warmerdam, Douglas Gordon, Ulay and Marina Abramovic and Job Koelewijn. Guest venue: Huize Frankendael, Amsterdam
Construction Cabin on tour
The Construction Cabin – designed by Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe – is a mobile pavilion for workshops, performances, lectures, walks, discussions and consultations. It was also an opportunity for the public to ask questions, including: ‘what do people expect of a museum without walls’? Between October 2008 and December 2009 the Construction Cabin visited many neighborhoods in Amsterdam. The cabin has now become part of the collection.Stedelijk in West
The Cook, the Farmer, His Wife and Their Neighbour. Van 18-04-’09 through 27-09-’09. A project by Slovenian artist Marjetica Potrč (1953) and Wilde Westen, a group of young designers, architects and cultural producers. They explored the history of Nieuw West as a garden suburb, and encouraged the re-use of urban green spaces through active community participation.Visibly absent
A collaborative project of the Stedelijk Museum, the Rietveld Academy and the Sandberg Institute. Students respond to iconic works from the Stedelijk collection; the results are visible at unexpected locations throughout the city.
Blikopeners
A project that began in September 2008, with 15 young Amsterdam residents who give advice to the museum and organize activities for other young people. The project has attracted enormous attention from other museums, which are interested in launching similar projects.Fencing the museum
Seven young artists give a fresh face to the 108-meter long construction-hoarding surround the Stedelijk Museum, inspired by iconic artworks from the collection. June 2008 – September 2009.The ‘old’ Stedelijk
Adriaan Willem Weissman, architect of the city of Amsterdam, designed the building for the museum in 1895. With its design of the upper façade and tower in a combination of pale stone and red brick, the exterior references 16th century Dutch Renaissance architecture. In 1938, Sandberg had the interior walls painted white, creating ‘white cube’ gallery spaces. When he had the opportunity some years later, in 1954, a largely glass extension arose, flanking the Van Baerlestraat. It came to be referred to as the ‘Sandberg Wing’. Sandberg also replaced the museum’s heavy, rather uninviting doors by a glass entrance.The ‘new’ Stedelijk
Due to poor maintenance and the lack of modern facilities, including climate control, the building was no longer able to meet today’s standards. Nor did it have the space to feature the highlights of the collection on permanent display; since its beginnings, over a century ago, the collection had vastly increased. The art depots and workshops had also become far too cramped. In 2004, a jury awarded Benthem Crouwel architects the renovation and construction contract for their daring design for the new building, fondly referred to as the ‘bathtub’. The new Stedelijk will have an exhibition surface area of 8000 m2; double its previous gallery space.Construction delays
At the time of the plans designed by architect Siza, the reopening was scheduled for 2007. In 2004, when a new competition was held it became clear that this date was not achievable. Although the renovated original building was completed in early 2010, conditions were not suitable for exhibiting artworks because there was no climate control system; this will be installed in the new wing. The press poured criticism on the delays. A campaign by Dutch cultural entrepreneur Otto Nan, ‘Stedelijk Do Something’, urging people text their disappointment at the delays, drew considerable media attention and a huge response from social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Otto Nan hoped that what he referred to as an ‘amicable coup’ would attract political attention with an occupation of Museumplein. Moreover, by sending SMS messages, people could raise money to help the museum re-launch a little sooner.The new Stedelijk
After the planned renovation and expansion, the highlights of the collection will be on display in the old building (in a series of changing presentations). The new wing (fondly referred to as the ‘bathtub’) will primarily host experimental, compelling exhibitions and film and video art. The exhibition program includes monographic exhibitions about Ron Arad and Mike Kelly. The re-opening, previously heralded for spring 2010 [13], is now expected in 2011. The restored original building will go ahead and open in 2010.[14]Organization
Originally a municipal body, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam attained the status of stichting, or independent foundation, on 1 January 2006, and is accountable to a Supervisory Board.Directors
- Jan Eduard van Someren Brand (1895–1906)
Conservator and first head of the Stedelijk Museum. Designed the period rooms and the presentation of the collection of militaria of the Amsterdam militia in the museum.
- Cornelis Baard (1906–1936)
Conservator and head as per 1905; officially became director in 1920. Founder of the municipal collection of modern contemporary art and design. Devised a dynamic exhibition policy and forged connections with important lending institutions.
- David Roëll (1936–1945)
Modernized the museum, hosted large-scale, international exhibitions, purchased a number of extraordinary international modern artworks and adroitly steered the museum through the period of German occupation.
- Willem SandbergWillem SandbergJonkheer Willem Jacob Henri Berend Sandberg known as Willem Sandberg was a Dutch typographer and museum curator.He was born in Amersfoort, Holland in 1897 and studied art in Amsterdam. He became a follower of the Mazdaznan movement. As a young man he travelled, serving as an apprentice to a...
(1945–1963)
Progressive exhibition-maker, graphic designer, collector of international (classic) modern and contemporary art. Made exhibitions about design early on, with Mart Stam, Gerrit Rietveld and others and as conservator, long before his directorship, had the interior walls of the museum painted white. Sandberg’s forward-thinking policy secured his international reputation as the Stedelijk’s most charismatic leader.
- Edy de Wilde (1963–1985)
Reorganized and professionalized what had, up to then, been a somewhat anarchic museum; focused on contemporary art of the 1960s onward. Besides an intensive contemporary art exhibition policy, he organized groundbreaking, exciting exhibitions of western European and American art of his time.
- Wim Beeren (1985–1993)
Emphasized art from the USSR, eastern Europe and Latin America. His exhibition program highlighted emerging American art, art historical themes and artists of the pre-war avant-garde like Oskar Schlemmer and Malevich. He also developed a versatile acquisition policy. Beeren drew up the first plans for expanding the museum, with firm of architects Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates.
- Rudi Fuchs (1993–2003)
Presented the collection in the exhibition series ‘Couplets’; Fuchs displayed the works in an a-historical, lyrical-associative dialogue that was applauded by the international art community. He continued the acquisition policy of De Wilde and Beeren, expanding it to include Central European art. He developed collection presentations with a number of guest curators including Dutch poet and writer Gerrit Komrij and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Fuchs commissioned Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza to develop new expansion plans for the Stedelijk Museum.
- Hans van Beers (ad interimAd interimThe Latin phrase ad interim literally means "in the time between" denotes the meaning of "in the meantime", "for an intervening time" or "temporarily" in the English language...
) (2003–2005)
Prepared the museum for attaining independent status and, after the closure of the historic building on the Paulus Potterstraat, found temporary alternative premises near Amsterdam Central Station: the SMCS. During his tenure, the expansion plans and the selection of Benthem Crouwel Architects became definitive.
- Gijs van Tuyl (2005–2009)
Under his directorship, the internal organization of the museum became more professional and more oriented towards the public. He injected new impetus into the acquisition and exhibition program and ensured that programming in the SMCS reflected current trends in contemporary art. When the SMCS closed in 2008 and until the reopening of the museum, he maintained the Stedelijk’s visible presence in the city with a dynamic program in a variety of locations, and with the Construction Cabin (part of the project Stedelijk goes to Town) which traveled through Amsterdam.
- Ann Goldstein (Started January 2010)
The first international director of the Stedelijk, and the first woman at the helm.
Prizes
In the last two years, the Stedelijk Museum was the recipient or awarding body of the following important prizes:Received
- Abraaj Capital Art Prize (2009) : awarded to Jelle Bouwhuis and Hala Elkoussy. Their project will be featured at Art Dubai in 2011.
- Turing Toekenning (2009) : for the Mike Kelley exhibition which will be on view in the new building.
- Ding! Prijs (2008) : for the art-minded game A Split Second devised by the Stedelijk and SubmarineChannel.
Awarded
- The Vincent Award (2008) : Deimantas Narkevicius (1964, Utena, Lithuania) is the winner of this year’s edition. Peter Friedl caused quite an uproar by backing out of the contest at the last minute. He was critical of the composition of the jury, slating it as paying lip service to democracy. The next edition will be held in 2010, highlighting art that addresses contemporary social issues.
Sponsors
- Ahold
- Bank Giro Loterij
- Gemeente Amsterdam
- Mondriaan Stichting
- SNS REAAL Fonds
- Turing Foundation
- Vereniging Rembrandt
- VSBfonds
Literature
- Joosten, J.M., ‘Collectie 19de-eeuwse schilderkunst uit het Stedelijk Museum te Amsterdam’, Enschede, 1973
- De Wilde, E., ‘-63/73 : De collectie van het Stedelijk Museum 1963 - 1973 : aanwinsten schilder- and beeldhouwkunst = The Stedelijk Museum collection : acquisitions 1963 - 1973 painting and sculpture’ [exhibition Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam 1974], Amsterdam, 1974
- De Wilde, E., ‘74/78 : de collectie van het Stedelijk Museum 1974 - 1978 : [aanwinsten 1974 - 1978 schilder- and beeldhouwkunst] = The Stedelijk Museum collectie 1974 - 1978 : [acquisitions 1974 - 1978 painting and sculpture]’, Amsterdam, 1980
- Grevestein, A. van, Grootheest, H. van, Grootheest, T., Pieters, D., ‘Aspecten van de Nederlandse schilderkunst : een keuze uit de collectie van het Stedelijk Museum = Aspects of Dutch painting : a selection from the Stedelijk Museum collection’ [exhibition Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam 1980], Amsterdam, 1980
- Kempers, P., ‘Binnen was buiten’, [about the Sandberg Wing], Amsterdam, 2010
- López, S., ‘In de ban van de band I: de media in het medium, videotapes uit de collectie van het Stedelijk Museum’, Amsterdam, 1984
- Grootheest, T. van, Lubbers, F., Wiarda, D., ‘Vormgeving 1900-1984, een keuze uit de collectie van het Stedelijk’ Amsterdam, 1985
- Roodenburgh-Schadd, C., 'Goed modern werk': de collectie Regnault in het Stedelijk [exhibition Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam 1995], Zwolle, 1995
- Ruiter, J. de, Imanse, G., ‘Russische avant-garde, een keuze uit de collectie van de Stichting Internationaal Centrum Khardzhiev-Chaga = Russian avant-garde, a selection from the collection of the Foundation International Centre Khardzhiev-Chaga’ [exhibition Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam 2001], Amsterdam, 2001
- ‘Het meubelboek : Nederlands meubelontwerp 1986-1996’, The Hague, 1996
- Imanse, G., Blotkamp, C., ‘Leporello : een reis door de collectie, 1874–2004’, Amsterdam, 2005
- ‘Collectieplan 2006 - 2007 : Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam’, Amsterdam, 2006
- ‘Collectieplan 2008 - 2009 : Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam’, Amsterdam : 2007
- Visser, H., Suermondt, R., ‘Fotografie in het Stedelijk : de geschiedenis van een collectie’, Amsterdam, 2009
External links
- Official website of the Stedelijk Museum
- Website of the Stedelijk goes to town project
- Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam project space of the Stedelijk Museum