Mauritshuis wary of lending art to US museums

The Mauritshuis museum in The Hague is wary about lending any more art to museums in the US without “cast iron guarantees” they will be returned, director Martine Gosselink has said in an interview with Trouw.

The Trump regime is threatening the freedom of museums in the United States but its ramifications are being felt in the Netherlands too, Gosselink said.

“We will have to be more careful…  Suppose you lend an object to the National Museum of African American History and Culture which is currently under fire. What if it is closed down? We want iron-clad guarantees, or it won’t happen,” she said.

The Frick Collection loaned the Mauritshuis 10 paintings for its anniversary exhibition but the reciprocal gesture will have to wait, she said.

Gosselink said her museum has “intensive contacts” with American curators who “fear for their jobs and are afraid they will be forced to mount shows with a propagandistic message”.

Fear of repercussions is greatest at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, which has been accused by Trump of promoting an “anti-American ideology” and is largely dependent on government subsidies.

But the Frick Collection, the metropolitan Museum and the Getty Museum are also worried, Gosselink said. “We are in contact about exhibitions, joint research and loans but lately we have been talking about politics,” she said.

Those contacts are affected by the Trump regime, Gosselink said. “Many people are already afraid to talk freely. Scientists don’t know what to expect when they travel to the US. Will they be plucked from the queue or will their phones be checked?”