The Kremer Collection: a love shared
Rembrandt - Frans Hals - Pieter de Hooch and more
February 14 to June 1, 2025
"The Kremer Collection: a love shared" attracts over 35,000 visitors to Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar
The Kremer Collection is an impressive and well-known private collection of Dutch and Flemish seventeenth-century masterpieces assembled since 1995 by George and Ilone Kremer. The collection includes works by painters such as Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Pieter de Hooch, and Caesar van Everdingen; the collection as a whole is one of world stature. What makes The Kremer Collection unique is not only its artistic value, but also the way the collectors and their son Joel Kremer want to share their passion with a wide audience.
From February 14, 2025, nearly 50 works from the collection were exhibited at Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar. Never before had such a prestigious private collection come to the city. A unique opportunity for visitors to admire masterpieces that are not normally open to the public.
The title "A Love Shared" refers to the love of the collector couple George and Ilone Kremer for art. On the one hand, the Kremer family's passion runs as a thread through the exhibition: the passion of collecting itself and the fervent desire to share this passion with the general public and younger generations. On the other hand, the love cycle provides a wonderful parallel to describe The Kremer Collection.
Constructed like a love affair - from grand and compelling to intimate and surprising - the exhibition also offers a glimpse into the passion that makes the Kremer family decide to add a work to their collection.
An absolute highlight of the exhibition is an intimate and subdued painting of A young maid painted by Michael Sweerts around 1660. Dreamy and somewhat absent-minded, the girl looks over her shoulder. She seems deep in thought, as if you caught her in a quiet moment of contemplation. Sweerts shows that sometimes the greatest power lies in the small and silent, just as love often shows itself in the smallest gestures.
A listening journey through The Kremer Collection, for young and old alike
With a listening tour, we offered visitors a unique, layered experience that shared the Kremer family's love of art and personal stories in an accessible and inspiring way.
The goal of the educational addition to the exhibition was to connect visitors, young and old, to the works of art in a profound and personal way. This is accomplished through an audio tour in which the Kremer family shares their passion and personal connection with the collection. George, Ilone, son Joel and their granddaughter Eliana (age 9) brought the five themes of the exhibition to life by sharing personal stories and insights.
A promising sequel
The Kremer Collection comprises a total of about 100 paintings and has been assiduously collected by George and Ilone Kremer since 1994. The collection is distinguished not only by the quality of the works, but also by the personal way of collecting: each work tells its own story.
The intention to place this unique collection on long-term loan to Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar marks a special new chapter for both the museum and the collection. In this way, the Kremer family's shared love of art will remain accessible to a wide audience in the future.