The history of the Lange Voorhout 1
That the beautiful Lange Voorhout – where our current and also our new office is located – has a tremendous history is, of course, not unknown. But that there is also much history with a special story at 1 Lange Voorhout will be unknown to many of you.
It all began around 1900 when Helene Kröller-Müller (of the now well-known Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo) moved from Rotterdam to The Hague with her family. Her husband, Anton Kröller, wanted to expand his trading and transportation business and knew that a strong relationship with politicians and diplomats would begin to provide this. So he established his headquarters in the building at Lange Voorhout 3 and his business prospered.
The passion of Helene Kröller-Müller
During this time, his wife Helene developed her passion for art, taking courses in art appreciation and visiting art dealers and auctions. With the proceeds from the successful business, Helene was able to build a huge collection of works by great artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso and Mondrian. In 1913, the couple bought the building next to the headquarters of the trading and transportation company, 1 Lange Voorhout. Helene then set this up as her first museum for her growing art collection. On Mondays and Fridays, it was open for viewing.
Except for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Kröller-Müller Museum has the largest collection of Van Goghs in the world. Without Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939), the art collection and museum would never have come about.
