The New York Historical Society is hosting an exhibition titled "Old Masters, New Amsterdam," which runs from May 1 to August 30, 2026. This exhibition commemorates two significant anniversaries: the 400th year since the Dutch founded New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island and the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. The exhibition aims to provide a glimpse into what life was like in the Dutch settlement before it was captured by the English and renamed New York.
The exhibition features over 60 Dutch paintings, with 45 works from the Leiden Collection, owned by Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Kaplan, supplemented by loans from other US museums and private collections. Renowned artists like Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen are included. These 17th-century Dutch paintings, while not created in America, offer insights into the material culture, customs, and daily life that would have been present in New Amsterdam. Co-curator Russell Shorto notes that since no artists were in New Amsterdam, these contemporary Dutch works help viewers envision the settlement.
"Old Masters, New Amsterdam" highlights the "humble but vibrant settlement" that was the capital of New Netherland from 1626 to 1664, stretching across parts of five future US states. The exhibition also delves into the complexities of the era, acknowledging the displacement of indigenous Lenape tribes and the presence of enslaved Africans, who first arrived around 1627. The show includes archival materials, such as a 1651 deed from Peter Stuyvesant granting land to an enslaved man who had gained freedom, illustrating aspects of the period's legal and social landscape.
The exhibition also includes an interactive digital reimagining of the 1660 Castello Plan of New Amsterdam, developed in partnership with the New Amsterdam History Center. This allows visitors to explore historical sites like the original City Hall and a house where enslaved Africans lived. The show emphasizes the Dutch values of religious tolerance, individualism, free trade, and intellectual pluralism that influenced the formative years of the United States, despite underlying exploitative practices.
