About Museum Willet-Holthuysen

The so-called double dwelling at Herengracht number 650 dates from the close of the 17th century. In 1855 the house was acquired by the parents of Louisa Holthuysen. After the death of her father in 1858, Louisa inherited the house and its contents. In 1861 she married Abraham Willet, whom se had known for serveral years.The couple redecorated the rooms in the basement and gave the bel-etage a complete face-lift in elegant Louis XVI style.

Museum Willet-Holthuysen houses the extraordinary art and craft collection collected by Abraham Willet (1825-1888). A selection of this collection is displayed alternately on the first floor of Museum Willet-Holthuysen. On this floor other exhibitions that are in line with the collection are also alternately displayed.

Abraham Willet was the son of a famous Amsterdam doctor. At a young age Abraham developed himself as a man with great interest in art and antiques. He was already active as a collector even before his marriage with the wealthy Louisa Holthuysen in 1861. He mainly bought paintings of contemporary artists. He sold this collection before he moved to the canal house at Herengracht 605. It was at the Herengracht where he again became a passionate collector with a broad interest in almost every field of arts and crafts. His collection included ceramics, glassware, silver, furniture, expensive trinkets, paintings, prints, drawings and photographs. He also collected statues and he put up a library at the canal house. These days the collection is managed by Museum Willet-Holthuysen and the Amsterdam Museum.