Archive Kunstzaal d’Audretsch to the RKD
In 2022, the archives of the Hague Kunstzaal d'Audretsch were acquired by the RKD. This art dealer was an established name in the cultural circles of the Netherlands in the first half of the twentieth century. Kunstzaal d'Audretsch was first located at Hoge Wal 16-16a and later had the address Noordeinde 119, but remained in The Hague.
Herman Eduard d’Audretsch
The Kunstzaal d’Audretsch was founded in 1913 by Hague art dealer Herman Eduard d’Audretsch (1872-1966). He was born in Amsterdam, but spent much of his life living and working in The Hague. Audretsch was initially married to the writer Lucie Marie Franssen, but this marriage did not last. After divorcing Lucie Marie, Audretsch married again in 1915, this time to sculptor Hildo Krop’s sister, Margaretha Maria Krop. Later Kunsthandel d’Audretsch would also offer work by Krop. Herman Eduard d’Audretsch had many contacts in the Dutch art world, and his art gallery was doing well. In 1933, Audretsch was immortalized on canvas by the famous Dutch painter Isaac Israëls.
2. Monthly flyer of Kunsthandel d'Audretsch 15 January 1916, collection RKD
3. Invitation for the exhibition of Mies Elout-Drabbe and Jan Heyse, 1918, collection RKD
Exhibitions
Kunstzaal d’Audretsch exhibited well-known artists from The Hague, but the art gallery also provided space for avant-garde artists. In 1916, d'Audretsch exhibited the work of pioneering artists such as Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Jacoba van Heemskerck and Paul Klee. This exhibition, called Expressionists - Cubists, was well received. Among others, Theo van Doesburg expressed his enthusiasm in the magazine Eenheid: ‘One of the most fundamental exhibitions of our time, giving the public the opportunity to get another, in this case a better, more pure impression of what is happening in the world of modern art.’
Audretsch’s customers included private collectors, but museums also knew how to find the Hague dealer. In 1926, for example, the art dealer sold the painting Nursery (1910) by Jan Sluijters to The Hague's Gemeentemuseum (now Kunstmuseum). In the 1930s, d’Audretsch sold many works from French artists as well. The successful art gallery closed its doors just after World War II, when Herman Eduard d’Audretsch left for Amerongen.
2. Jan Sluijters, Nursery, 1910, collection Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Archive Kunstzaal d’Audretsch
Through Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the archive of Kunstzaal d’Audretsch has now been donated to the RKD by the heirs of art historian Jonieke van Es. She was head of collection and research at the museum in Rotterdam from 2006 until her death in 2012. The Kunstzaal d’Audretsch archive consists of many diverse items, and includes a large quantity of photographs, price lists, exhibition posters, invitations and newspaper articles. Through this donation, the documentational material of d'Audretsch, an art gallery with such strong ties to The Hague’s art world, remains preserved and connected to The Hague.