The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which houses the largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s art, has stated that it might be forced to close if it doesn’t receive new government funding for renovation.
In a press release, the museum explained that its buildings “are in a poor condition, requiring substantial investments to keep them safe and suitable for public access.” Yet with government funding falling short, a €104 million renovation project hangs in the balance.
“If this situation persists, it will be dangerous for the art and dangerous for our visitors”, says Van Gogh Museum Director Gordenker in The New York Times. “This is the last thing we want — but if it comes to that, we would have to close the building.”
The dispute has existed since the museum’s founding. After Vincent van Gogh’s death, his nephew, V. W. van Gogh, known as the Engineer in documents, established a foundation for the family’s art collection in 1962. His condition was that the Dutch government had to create and maintain a museum to ensure the art remained together and accessible to the public.
That vision became reality in 1973, when the museum first opened its doors. Since then, nearly 57 million visitors have passed through, with a peak of 2.6 million visitors in 2017. Yet the government-owned building was never designed to cope with such overwhelming numbers, leaving it under growing pressure today.
To tackle the issue, the Van Gogh Museum has commissioned a Masterplan 2028, focusing on “major maintenance and essential sustainability measures.” The work, expected to begin in 2028 and last approximately three years, will allow the museum to remain partially open to the public.
The programme, budgeted at €104 million, allocates €76 million to essential maintenance and replacements, €23 million to sustainability measures, and €5 million to visitor-focused improvements. The museum claims it can fund some of the project using its reserves and by accepting a loss in revenue from the partial closure. However, it states that it requires a guaranteed annual contribution of about €11 million from the government to finance the renovation and establish a long-term maintenance fund. The ministry currently provides €8.5 million per year, which leaves an annual deficit of €3.5 million.
The future of the iconic Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is in doubt, because the Dutch government is not sticking to the historic 1962 founding agreement it made with V.W. van Gogh, nephew of the artist, who was the owner of the whole collection. If the Dutch government does not…
— Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) August 27, 2025
“The Vincent van Gogh Foundation is deeply concerned about the accessibility of the Van Gogh collection in light of the current funding issues surrounding necessary investments in the Van Gogh Museum’s buildings and facilities,” the Foundation noted in a statement. “Engineer V. W. van Gogh, nephew of the artist, made the agreement with the Dutch State in 1962 and made his private collection available to the public domain. In return, the Dutch State must fulfil its legally established obligations.”
