The Centraal Museum was established in 1838 and is the oldest municipal museum in the Netherlands. The museum has a diverse collection of art, city history, fashion and applied art, which is largely owned by the municipality of Utrecht.

The collection contains approximately 50,000 objects. Due to lack of space and fragility, only part of it can be exhibited in the museum buildings. The entire collection is available online. Go to online collection and browse the collection, or search for your favourite object.

Collection online

Collection policy plan

The 2016-2020 Collection policy plan The Centraal Museum's new collection policy plan for the period 2016-2020 is Samen - Zichtbaar - Delen ('Together – Visible – Share’). This plan charts the Centraal Museum's course for the collection management. The policy with respect to collecting, divesting, management and preservation, disclosure and use of the collection is described in detail.

Offering objects

Every week, the Centraal Museum is offered (art) objects to add to the collection. Each offer is carefully considered. Potentially interesting pieces are presented during the Curators' meeting, where it is discussed whether an object suits our collection. Because we invest a lot of time and money in our collection, we carefully weigh each addition to the collection. In order to be able to make this assessment, we need as much information as possible about the offered objects.

We kindly request you to send the offer by email or post to the Collection Management department, including one or more good photos and answers to the following questions:

  • Who created the object?
  • Is the piece dated and signed?
  • Are there brands/stamps or suchlike on the object?
  • How and when did the object come into your possession?
  • Who were the previous owners?
  • In what way do you wish to transfer ownership of the object to the Centraal Museum (for example as a gift, long-term loan, sale. In case of sale, please state your asking price)?

Once we have received the above information, the Collection Management department will notify you about the decision. Because the Curators' meeting is held only once a month and because we want to work carefully, it can take a few weeks before you receive a response.

Please note: Never bring objects to the meeting without an appointment. These will not be accepted.

Contact

Centraal Museum
Collection Management department
PO Box 2106
3500 GC Utrecht
email: collectiebeheer@centraalmuseum.nl
telephone: +31 (0)30 236 2362