The Netherlands
Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam
Founded in 1992 the Fotomuseum’s collection
holds the negatives, transparencies, and prints
from 70 Dutch photographers of the nineteenth
and twentieth century who worked for press agen-
cies, theatre companies, film companies, fashion
houses, industry, the government, and publishers.
A unique feature of the museum is that it holds
agreements by which its holdings can be sold to the
public for various commercial or private uses.
Ten to fifteen exhibitions each year are moun-
ted in the museum’s three galleries of 600 square
meters, focusing mainly on the contemporary
photography of the Netherlands. Bilingual (Dutch/
English) publications are produced. The museum
features a comprehensive Restoration Department
offering conservation and restoration services to the
public. The museum library emphasis is on photo-
graphy theory, the history of photography, and
Dutch photograph since 1945 and contains not
only books but extensive digital materials and an
online catalogue.
http://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl
http://www.nfi.nl
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
The photographic collection of this general
museum (founded in 1885) began in 1958 with
gifts of two collectors. Currently the collection con-
tains 9,000 photographs of international as well as
Dutch artists, many of these a permanent loan of
the Dutch government. Of particular interest are
works by La ́szlo ́ Moholy-Nagy, Gertrude Ka ̈seb-
ier, Paul Strand, Euge`ne Atget, Cecil Beaton,
Robert Capa, Andre ́Kerte ́sz, Johan van der Keu-
ken, Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin, and Rineke Dijk-
stra and concentrations of works by Eva Besnyo ̈
(78), Erwin Blumenfeld (42) and Ed van der Elsken
(240). The library features over 2,500 photo-books
and periodicals as part of the general art library of
the museum. Photography exhibitions are mounted
as part of the general program.
http://www.stedelijk.nl
Norway
Norsk Museum for Fotografi, Preus Fotomuseum,
Horten
Based on the collection of the Preus fotomuseum
from Preus Foto corporation, the Norsk Museum
was founded in 1994 when this collection was
acquired by the state for the purpose of establishing
a national museum for photography in Norway.
Located on the fourth floor of the Karljohansvern,
owned by the Ministry of Defense in a space called
Storehouse No. 1, its charter is for the preservation,
collection, and dissemination of photographs in
Norway, with a particular focus on art photographs.
The collections and exhibitions contain Norwegian
and international photographs, cameras, and other
objects that illustrates the development of photogra-
phy. The museum also features an international
library with 20,000 volumes on the prehistory and
history of photography, photographic techniques,
history of the camera, photography as a form of
art and documentation, and all types of photo-
graphic activity and related topics. The periodicals
collection comprises around 1,000 titles, 100 of
which are current. The library incorporates a num-
ber of Norwegian and international archives, fore-
most among them the Narath Archive.
http://www.museumsnett.no/fotografimuseum
http://www.foto.museum.noPoland
Muzeum Narodowe Wroclaw (National Museum of
Warsaw, Photography Department), Warsaw
The photo collection was founded in 1963. Hold-
ings include ca. 10,500 photographs. The collection
concentrates on creative photography, especially
Polish art photography since the beginning to the
present. Particular artists include Hermann Krone,
Jo ́zef Czechowicz, Jan Bułhak, Witold Romer,
Zbingniew Dłubak, Frantciszek Groer, Aleksander
Krzywobłocki, ZdisłBeksinski, Natalia NN, and
Edward Hartwig. Photo-literature is included in the
museum library.
Galleries for temporary exhibitions comprise 6
rooms and 250 square meters, and two or three
photo exhibitions per year.
http://www.rej.com.pl/m_narodoweMuseum Sztuki (Museum of Fine Arts), Lodz
Founded in 1930, the museum is one of the oldest
museums of modern art in Europe. In 1977, the
Department of Photography was founded featuring
about 3,000 photographs, as well as artists’ videos.
The department houses a unique international collec-
tion of avant-garde art, covering the period from the
1920s to the 1930s, and collecting is concentrated on
contemporary photography, especially of Poland and
Central Europe. Featured photographers are Flor-
ence Henri, Anton Stankowski, Stanisław Ignacy
Witkacy, Werner Bishof, Frantisˇek Vobecky ́,Vilem
Reichmann, Christian Boltanski, Annette Messager,MUSEUMS: EUROPE