When I interviewed Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo about their Old Master collection in 2009, they said definitively, for the first time, that they would give it away to an institution (see here and here).
Now they’ve gone further: On the eve of the opening of its showing at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, they’ve essentially said that it’s the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s to lose.
In an article published today, Eijk van Otterloo told Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe that:
…if they were to give it away now, it would probably go to the MFA. But he’s interested in hearing from MFA director Malcolm Rogers about how he might be able to accommodate a library of more than 10,000 Dutch art-history books the couple recently purchased.
Given the fundraising prowess of Rogers, I don’t think he will lack for ideas — though I’m not sure he made enough of a fuss about their recent long-term loans of a half dozen paintings, including their Rembrandt (at left).
So I wouldn’t be surprised if he were high-tailing it up from his home in Chestnut Hill to their home in Marblehead, Mass. today — except that the couple is currently living in their home in Naples, FL. That’s because for the next year or so, while their collection is touring the country, their Marblehead home is undergoing renovations, including new windows.
Rogers won’t lack for competition. Mrs. van Otterloo is a trustee at PEM, and it is also in the running. The Globe said they are also considering the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif. and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, which has the attraction of being free.
Other museums may make a play. In fact, Mrs. van Otterloo told the Globe that others are making advances, “starting to dance.”
It ought to be fun watching, but if MFA doesn’t get it, there should be trouble in that boardroom.
Here’s a link to the Globe piece, which has much else to offer.