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Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, situated in the heart of the Midlands in the UK, holds a significant collection of Dutch paintings dating primarily from the seventeenth century. Comprising 44 oil paintings and one watercolor, the collection represents some of the oldest works in the museum’s holdings, despite having been assembled relatively recently between 1950 and 2015. Distinct within a collection otherwise focused on nineteenth- and twentieth-century British art, the Dutch paintings reflect both the artistic production of the Dutch Republic and the collecting tastes of several British collectors.

The collection was founded with the acquisition of two important works formerly in the celebrated Cook Collection at Doughty House: Abraham Bloemaert’s The Prodigal Son (1615) and Godfried Schalcken’s Self-Portrait by Candlelight (1695). These paintings were joined by further works through the 1953 bequest of Captain Mark Field and the 2015 bequest of scholar George Watson, creating what may be described as a collection of collections. Alongside works by recognized masters, the holdings include paintings by lesser-known artists as well as later copies inspired by seventeenth-century Dutch models. Together, the paintings offer insight into the enduring appeal of Dutch art in Britain and the ways in which collecting priorities have evolved over time.

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