Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is an art museum in Amsterdam specializing in modern and contemporary art and design, housing around 90,000 objects. Its exhibition spaces spread across a 19th-century historic building and a distinctive modern extension with a white facade, locally nicknamed the bathtub.
Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen founded the collection in 1874, and the purpose-built museum by Adriaan Willem Weissman opened to the public in 1895. After extensive renovation and the addition of the new wing, the institution reopened in 2012, expanding its exhibition space considerably.
The name derives from the Dutch word for municipal and reflects the original connection to Amsterdam's city government. Visitors today move through rooms with open spatial design and clear lighting, meant to encourage dialogue between viewer and artwork.
The building sits on Museumplein near other major museums and can be reached via several tram lines. Large exhibitions may take several hours to explore, so visiting in the morning when rooms are quieter can be helpful.
A team of staff members hid the entire collection during World War II to protect it from destruction or confiscation. Today the institution holds one of the largest collections of Dutch De Stijl movement works outside private archives.
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