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The Milwaukee Art Museum holds well over 300 Dutch and Flemish objects dating from before 1800. This collection is comprised of around 50 paintings, with the remainder consisting of works on paper (primarily prints) and decorative arts. Highlights of the collection include Caravaggist paintings by Gerrit van Honthorst and Matthias Stom, finely painted works by Adriaen van der Werff and Bartholomeus Breenbergh, portraits by Jan Victors and Pieter Claesz. Soutman, and an important signed still life by Maria Theresa van Thielen. Additionally, prints by Joris Hoefnagel, Rembrandt van Rijn, Hendrick Goltzius, Cornelis Visscher, and Hendrik Goudt, represent some of the strengths of the museum’s works on paper.
Dutch and Flemish paintings have been a part of Milwaukee’s collection since its early days, but became a particular area of focus starting in the 1950s with the assistance of Dr. Alfred Bader (1924-2018), who not only donated many paintings, but collaborated on numerous exhibitions. Fittingly, the European program and senior curatorial position at the museum now bears the Bader name. The collection has continued to grow over the years through gifts and purchases.
Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art (January 2025)