Amsterdam Museum acquires iconic 1889 Schwartze painting of singing orphanage girls

The Amsterdam Museum has acquired a painting that holds iconic status for the institution at the PAN art fair, the museum announced. The painting, Music-Making Girls of the Amsterdam Municipal Orphanage (1889) by Thérèse Schwartze, depicts a group of girls singing, dressed in the red-and-black dresses worn by all the young female residents of the orphanage.

The former Municipal Orphanage on Kalverstraat is the Amsterdam Museum’s main location. According to the museum, acquiring the painting brings “a piece of the history of its own building” into its collection. The building is currently undergoing renovations.

However, once the renovations are completed in 2030, the painting will occupy a central place in the museum’s exhibition. Curator Norbert Middelkoop describes it as “an exceptional addition to the Amsterdam Museum’s collection.”

The two-meter-wide painting was originally offered for 250,000 euros. However, the Amsterdam Museum managed to secure a 50,000 euros discount because the current owner, New York art dealer Lawrence Steigrad, believed that the work belonged in the museum.

The purchase was made possible through the museum’s own funds, a crowdfunding campaign, and a substantial donation from the Judith Leyster Fund, a newly established fund of the Rembrandt Association dedicated to increasing the visibility of female artists. The Amsterdam Museum shares this objective. This year, it is celebrating its centenary.