Kroller-Muller Museum

Helene Kroller-Muller began buying art in 1907 with her husband's shipping and mining fortune and bought Van Gogh early and in quantity, when he was still cheap: the collection holds nearly ninety paintings and around a hundred and eighty drawings by him, second only to the Van Gogh Museum, including Cafe Terrace at Night and four of the sunflowers-period works. She also bought Seurat, Mondrian, Picasso and Leger before they were established. The couple gave the collection and the estate to the state in 1935 and the museum opened in 1938 in a low building by Henry van de Velde. Behind it is one of the largest sculpture gardens in Europe, twenty-five hectares of woodland and lawn with Rodin, Moore, Serra, Dubuffet and Oldenburg among the trees. It stands inside the Hoge Veluwe, where about eighteen hundred free white bicycles are left at the gates for anyone to use.

History

Helene Kröller-Müller, advised by H. P. Bremmer, was one of the first to recognise Van Gogh's genius and collect his work. She gave her whole collection to the Dutch state in 1935, the museum designed by Henry van de Velde opened in 1938, the sculpture garden followed in 1961 and a new wing by Wim Quist in 1977 (Wikipedia, Kröller-Müller Museum).

What's there

• Nearly ninety Van Goghs - the second-largest collection in the world.
• Bought before they were famous - Seurat, Mondrian and Picasso acquired early.
• A twenty-five-hectare sculpture garden - Rodin, Moore, Serra and Dubuffet in woodland.
• Free white bicycles - about eighteen hundred left at the park gates for anyone.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Good to know

Two tickets are needed - park entry and museum - and the museum is several kilometres inside the park, so the bicycle is not optional in practice. Closed Mondays. Van Gogh works rotate and travel.

Nearby

The Hoge Veluwe park surrounds it; Radio Kootwijk is north-east.

Key facts