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The Davis Museum was founded in 1889 and holds over 400 Dutch and Flemish works dating between 1400 and 1800. Nearly 300 are prints and drawings with examples by Hendrick Goltzius, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Lucas van Leyden. Numerous genres are represented through painting, such as a still life by Pieter de Ring, marine paintings from Willem van de Velde the Elder, including a particularly rare pen painting, and portraits by Abraham de Vries and Nicolaes Maes. The Davis also has in its collection substantial Dutch and Flemish works in other media including sculpture, ceramics, and textiles.
These artworks are often used in the Davis’ installations and temporary exhibitions, which are free and open to the public. A gallery dedicated to northern European artworks displays the Davis’ standout paintings. It also includes a works on paper rotation that changes each semester of Wellesley College, which allows for new dialogues between Dutch and Flemish works in the collection. Wellesley faculty and students, as well as outside scholars, regularly use the Davis’ Dutch and Flemish artworks for teaching and research.
Nicole Berlin, Assistant Curator of Collections (May 2024)