Van Abbemuseum

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Front of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. View to the northwest, with the City Hall (far left).

Van Abbemuseum is a museum of modern art located in the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands on the east bank of the Dommel stream.

[edit] History

The museum's core collection was begun in 1903 as a part of the private collection of a local cigar manufacturer, Henri van Abbe, and contains works by Jan Sluijters, Carel Willink and Isaac Israëls. In 1934, Van Abbe donated a part of his collection to the city of Eindhoven, with the stipulation that the collection be housed in a museum. To this end, the city had architect Alexander Kropholler design a building, which was constructed in 1936. His design is in the traditionalist style. The museum also bought a lot of other artworks from Henri van Abbe.

[edit] Present day

The new extension. View to the southeast, with the City Hall (background right).

As the building had become far too small for modern demands, a new extension to the building, including a 27 metre high tower, was designed by Abel Cahen; it was inaugurated in 2003 by Queen Beatrix.

More recent acquisitions include pieces by Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian. The museum is also internationally renowned for having one of the largest collections of works by El Lissitzky.

The museum also houses the collection of posters made by the situationist Jacqueline de Jong in Paris during May 1968.