Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection

The Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection is a private collection of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings assembled by Boston-area collectors Susan and Matthew Weatherbie. In 2017, the Weatherbies pledged to donate their collection to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), as part of a landmark joint gift with fellow collectors Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo. The combined donation of 113 works by 76 artists constitutes the largest gift of European paintings in the MFA's history and will nearly double the museum's holdings of Dutch and Flemish art. The gift also includes funding to establish the Center for Netherlandish Art at the MFA, the first such center in the United States.

Susan and Matthew Weatherbie began collecting 17th-century Dutch art in the mid-1980s, developing their collection through decades of committed connoisseurship. Both Susan and Matthew Weatherbie held leadership positions with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, prior to their pledged donation. The formal commitment to donate the collection was announced on52 on October 11, 2017. The Weatherbies and van Otterloos chose the MFA over other institutions, including the Yale University Art Gallery, because they wanted their collections to reach the broadest possible audience rather than a specialized academic one. The couples also agreed to continue adding to their collections with the MFA's broader collection in mind. The gift includes a provision that 85 percent of the collection must be on view at any given time, either at the MFA Boston or other institutions. The Center for Netherlandish Art, expected to launch in 2020, was established as part of the gift, with the Weatherbie and van Otterloo collections serving as its foundation.

The Weatherbie collection, as part of the joint gift, contributes to a comprehensive survey of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painting. The 113 works by 76 artists span all categories of Dutch painting for which the republic of the Netherlands was best known: portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, flower pictures, cityscapes, and architectural paintings. The collection as a whole affords insight into the 17th-century Dutch way of life. Among the Flemish paintings are important oil sketches, portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. The works are noted for being beautifully conserved and of the highest quality. The gift significantly strengthens the MFA's representation of Flemish paintings and fills major gaps in the museum's collection.

The joint collection includes several works that had been on loan to the MFA and became popular with visitors. Gerrit Dou's Dog at Rest (1650) was one such work, described by the MFA's senior curator for painting Ronni Baer as a particular highlight. Willem Kalf's Still Life With aucked Lemon (1664) is a rare well-preserved example that illustrates why the painter is sometimes called 'the Vermeer of still life.' The most celebrated work in the joint gift is Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn's Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh (1632), considered one of the finest and best-preserved Rembrandt portraits in private hands. The painting, in nearly perfect condition, displays delicate tones of black-on-black and virtuosic control of the brush. Aeltje Uylenburgh was the cousin of Rembrandt's wife-to-be, Saskia, and of the prominent art dealer Hendrick Uylenburgh, with whom Rembrandt lived when he first arrived in Amsterdam. The gift of this portrait brought the number of Rembrandt paintings in the MFA's collection to six. Other notable artists in the joint collection include Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jan Brueg the Elder, Jan Steen, Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael, Willem van de Velde the Younger, Rachel Ruysch, and Osias Beert.

The Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection is located in Massachusetts, United States. The collection is not housed in a dedicated building; rather, it is a private collection that has been committed to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The MFA created a special display in its European galleries to celebrate the announced gift, juxtaposing a selection of works from each collection with Dutch and Flemishimble paintings from the MFA's existing holdings. This installation was on view through January 18, 2018. The Center for Netherlandish Art, funded in part by the Weatherbie and van Otterloo gifts, was planned to serve as the primary institutional home for the study and display of the collections, with the MFA as its physical location.

The Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection is not independently accessible to the public, as it is a private collection pledged to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The MFA, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the intended public repository for the collection. The donation agreement stipulates that 85 percent of the collection must be on view at any given time, either at the MFA Boston or other institutions, ensuring broad public access. The collection is intended to be displayed, loaned, and shared with the widest possible audiences. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is a public institution, and the integration of the Weatherbie collection into its holdings has made the museum one of the country's preeminent destinations for Dutch art from the Golden Age. The full integration of the gift into the MFA's collection had not been assigned an exact date as of the 2017 announcement.