Earlier this year, Anita M. Gilleo, one of five surviving grandchildren of Mathias Alten, donated nine Alten paintings to the Holland Museum that have not previously been exhibited to the public. Mathias Alten (1871–1938) was a German-American impressionist painter active in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is best known for his land- and seascapes, of which are the highlight of this new collection.

The paintings are from Alten’s time in the Netherlands from 1910-1911. Alten traveled to Scheveningen, a north seashore town in the Netherlands where he painted large work horses and fishing boats with his wife and three daughters. Previously inspired by Hague artists, it was important to Alten to paint iconic Dutch scenes to honor this traditional painting style. His time in Holland inspired paintings of people, homes, canals, seascapes, landscapes and windmills. In addition to the nine newly acquired works, the Museum will have four additional Alten paintings on loan from private collections, including one self-portrait from Ms. Gilleo and three from a private collection in the Netherlands.

“A home at the Holland Museum was chosen for these vignettes of Dutch life in the early 20th century because of this area’s strong Dutch heritage. My grandfather and his family lived in the Netherlands for a year at the peak of international respect for modern painters in the Netherlands of that era.” Anita M. Gilleo