Old Masters and New Amsterdam

Exactly 400 years ago the Dutch founded the city of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. In Europe at that same time they were revolutionizing art, with Rembrandt and his contemporaries turning a keen eye to the world around them. This first-of-its-kind exhibition uses their paintings to help us envision life in the little Dutch settlement that would become New York. With works by Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen, many of them never before shown in New York, the exhibition will dazzle and delight viewers. Let the Old Masters introduce you to New Amsterdam.

Accompanying the exhibition is a digital reimagining of the 1660 Castello Plan of New Amsterdam. Created in partnership with the New Amsterdam History Center, this interactive map lets visitors explore sites in the 17th century city, including a house where enslaved Africans lived, the original City Hall, and the Indian Trading House. Curated by Russell Shorto, Director of the New Amsterdam Project at The New York Historical, and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., Senior Advisor to The Leiden Collection.

With deepest gratitude to The Leiden Collection. And with thanks to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Matthew and Susan Weatherbie, Allen Hirsch, and Dinko Podrug.