CODART´s 18th annual congress opened today with a festive reception at Johnny Van Haeften in London. Nearly 140 CODART members will attend lectures and excursions in London until Wednesday. This year’s congress theme is Curators and the Art Trade: A Discussion of Opportunities and Dilemmas.

During the opening reception, hosted by Johnny Van Haeften, the participants were welcomed by the London-based art dealer and Gerdien Verschoor, director of CODART. The opening was preceded by two optional walking tours. One exploring the dynamic area of Spitalfields in East London, the other visited several art galleries specialized in Dutch and Flemish Old Masters.

Tomorrow The National Gallery will host the first day of the congress featuring several lectures, statements on the congress theme, discussions and an exclusive last viewing of the successful exhibition Rembrandt: The Late Works, which closed for the public today.

Tuesday the congress will move to the recently refurbished Wallace Collection, where CODART members will give short presentations in the Speakers’ Corner. Afterwards the members will partake in various in-depth visits to London’s museums including the Wallace Collection, the Courtauld Gallery, the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Wednesday offers an optional program of study visits to other interesting museums and collections with Dutch and Flemish art.