Amsterdam’s Stedelijk reopens to the public

Amsterdam’s Stedelijk museum was officially re-opened by Queen Beatrix on 22 September and opened to the public again after ten years on 23 September.

The new part of the building includes a glass entrance that opens onto Museumplein, upper level galleries for temporary exhibitions and new areas in the basement for the permanent collection. The €127 million project has been financed almost entirely by the city.

The original museum building dates back to 1895. In 1909 it was decided that the Stedelijk should collect modern and contemporary art and its exhibitions and acquisitions have reflected that policy ever since.

The opening exhibition, “Beyond Imagination” (23 Sept-11 Nov) is of work by up-and-coming Dutch artists, to be followed by a Mike Kelley retrospective opening on 15 Dec.

Its collection includes De Stijl, Bauhaus, Pop Art and CoBrA. It has works by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, De Kooning, Bruce Nauman, Gilbert and George and Tracey Emin.

The old building has been shut since 2003, largely because of structural problems which complicated the renovations, although it has continued to work in various parts of the city during the whole period.

The Stedelijk, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum make up Amsterdam’s three most important museums. The Rijksmuseum, most of which is shut at present, will open again in April 2013 after a ten-year restoration.

It is now the turn for restoration at the Van Gogh museum and the building closed on 24 September. It should open again in April 2013. Meanwhile part of the collection is moving to the Hermitage in Amsterdam where it will open on 29 September.

Photos of the Stedelijk by John Lewis Marshall