It is with great pleasure that Veilinggebouw De Zwaan presents the catalogue of
‘The Aldo and Hannie van Eyck Art Collection’

Few collections carry such a personal provenance: an unique combination of Modern Art with a distinctive history and a curated assembly of Tribal Art objects, gathered over a period of more than fifty years.

A large part of the Modern Art section was formed through personal contact with the influential artists themselves. The Tribal Art section was assembled and expanded through purchases at auction houses, explorations of galleries in Amsterdam and beyond, and through discoveries on the couple’s many journeys around the world – all bearing witness to the van Eycks’ lifelong passion for collecting. Among the many things that make this collection special is the rare opportunity to see and hear Aldo van Eyck speak about it himself. In a lecture delivered to students in Delft during the International Design Seminar (INDESEM 1987), he begins with architecture and his own theories, but ends by showing some fifty slides of objects from his personal collection. Aldo offers no anthropological background and minimal cultural explanation; instead, he shares how the objects speak to him. Watching his lecture on YouTube you may find yourself anticipating each next slide, drawn into his way of seeing – an invitation to look differently, as he did and experience for yourself the sense of discovery that moved us when we first encountered it.

Veilinggebouw de Zwaan is honoured to invite you to come and explore this singular collection for yourself.

Michiel Boerma – Tribal Art Specialist
Babette van den Brink – Director Veilinggebouw de Zwaan