Old Masters On View at Harvard Art Museums

Wed, Jun 6 - Wed, Jun 6  2018

The Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, currently have seven Dutch 17th-century paintings on display in room 2300, which is a gallery dedicated to 17th-century Dutch and Flemish Art. These paintings form part of a bigger gift of eighteen paintings by notable Boston art collectors Peter and Anne Brooke to the museum.

“Floral Still Life with Hollyhock and Marigold” (c. 1718) by Jan van Huysum II

About the Paintings

The Harvard Art Museums have slowly been welcoming into the collection a blockbuster gift of paintings produced in the Netherlands during the 17th century, a period in Dutch art history known as the Golden Age. The paintings were first promised to the museums in 2007 by Peter and Anne Brooke, whose thoughtful collecting was fueled by a love of both art and the natural world. The couple also felt passionate about enhancing the teaching and learning experience for Harvard students.

“Landscape with Peasants and a Washerwoman” (c. 1640–50) by David Teniers II

Thanks to these recent gifts, and building on the generosity of Peter and Anne Brooke, Boston is now the leading hub for research on Dutch and Flemish art in the United States, generating a new wave of interest in Netherlandish art and stimulating collaboration with other institutions. The Brooke gift is a critical component of these developments, offering students, scholars, and the general public more opportunities to learn about, explore, and appreciate Dutch and Flemish paintings of exceptional quality.

“Moonlit Estuary” (c. 1640–50) by Aert van der Neer