A controversial past
Subtitle: Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and the Second World War
By: authors, Ariëtte Dekker, Albert J. Elen, Mieke Fransen, Hanna Leijen, Lisette Sulenta
Contributors: Dekker, Ariëtte, 1964- author; Elen, Albert J., author; Fransen, Mieke, author; Leijen, Hanna, author; Sulenta, Lisette, author
Series: Boijmans studies -- 15; Boijmans studies -- 15.
Publisher: Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
Published: 2018
Place of publication: Rotterdam
Language: eng
Number of pages: 180
ISBN-13: 9789069183077
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: History; World War, 1939-1945; Exhibitions; Art and the war; Art; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
Description: The story of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen during the Second World War is an emotionally charged one: a director who bent to the will of the occupying power and patrons who sold works of art to the Nazis. At the same time, the museum played an important role as a centre of art and culture and the guardian of culture in the devastated city of Rotterdam. This Boijmans Study examines the role of the museum and its patrons during the war. The story would not be complete, however, without an account of the museum's spectacular development in the interwar years. To a significant extent, it had the Rotterdam shipping magnates D.G. van Beuningen and Willem van der Vorm and the Haarlem banker Franz Koenigs to thank for the growth of its collection. Their passion for collecting and their patronage are seen against the background of great changes in affluence, which drove a flourishing international art trade. The book ends with an account of seven special cases of research into the sometimes complicated provenance of works of art in the museum's collection. Exhibition: Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (13.10.2018 - 27.01.2019).
Notes: Published to accompany an exhibition held at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 13th October 2018-27th January 2019.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 168-175) and index.