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4h ago

Van Gogh Museum Warns of Closure, Files Legal Challenge Over Funding

The government says current subsidies are sufficient under a standard formula.

Vincent van Gogh’s self-portrait is one of 200 paintings by the Dutch master at the Van Gogh Museum, the Netherlands’ second most popular museum
Staff at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam hang a self-portrait of the artist
Under threat? Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum
A visitor admires Van Gogh's 'The Sunflowers' at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Overview

  • The museum says aging infrastructure and failing systems now pose risks to the collection, visitors, and staff.
  • The planned Masterplan 2028 renovation is budgeted at €104 million, with the museum pledging to co-finance and to absorb an estimated €50 million in lost revenue during partial closures.
  • The institution is seeking to raise its annual state subsidy to about €11 million from the current €8.5 million to proceed with the works and future upkeep.
  • The Dutch culture ministry rejects the request, citing independent research and a methodology that delivers a fixed, inflation-adjusted housing subsidy already high per square meter.
  • The dispute centers on a 1962 agreement tying the state to construction and upkeep of the museum, with a court hearing scheduled for February 2026.