Van Gogh Museum may close if the Dutch government doesn't help fund repairs

The director of the Van Gogh Museum is warning that the gallery may have to close if the Dutch government does not help to foot the bill for major maintenance

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The Amsterdam museum that displays a priceless collection of works by one of the world's most popular artists, Vincent van Gogh, may have to close if the Dutch government doesn't help foot the bill for major repairs to its aging building, the museum's director said Thursday.

Since its opening in 1973, nearly 57 million visitors have passed through the Van Gogh Museum to gaze at iconic works including one of his paintings of a vase of sunflowers as well as “Almond Blossom,” “The Potato Eaters” and a colorful depiction of his bedroom in the French town of Arles.

But Director Emilie Gordenker says the original building, which is owned by the Dutch state, is in such poor condition it needs urgent and extensive repairs to keep its priceless collection and visitors safe.

“If we don’t address the major maintenance that needs to happen, we will have to close," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. The New York Times first reported on her concerns on Wednesday.

She said the 50-year-old building needs "major maintenance,” and two years of talks with the government have not resolved a dispute about how to pay for repairs expected to start in 2028, last three years and cost 104 million euros ($121 million).

“It’s now getting very urgent,” she said.

She said that during the renovation, the museum would be partly closed and would therefore earn less from ticket sales. “The only thing we’re asking them to do is to help us finance the basic maintenance,” she said.

The nearby Rijksmuseum shut down for years for a largescale renovation, but Gordenker says that kind of major facelift is not what the Van Gogh Museum is appealing for.

Among other things, urgent repairs are needed for air conditioning, elevators, even the sewage system.

“It’s not the fun, sexy, let’s build a new wing stuff," she said.

In a written reaction, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science said that the museum receives an annual subsidy “sufficient to carry out the necessary maintenance. This position is based on extensive expert research commissioned by the Ministry.”

It said the museum objected to the subsidy decision last year and recently filed an appeal in a Dutch court that will be heard in February next year. “It is not unusual for parties to have a subsidy decision reviewed by the court,” the ministry added.

The dispute has its origins in a decision by Van Gogh’s family to transfer a trove of his art — more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 900 letters along with works by contemporaries such as Paul Gauguin — to a foundation set up in 1962 to keep the collection together. In return, the government pledged to build and maintain a museum where the works could be displayed, the museum said in a statement.

Gordenker argues that means the government should also help to fund the work the museum now needs.