Groningen City Hall has an art collection with over 130 works of art. Some even go back to the late 16th century. You can view the collection in the City Hall, but now also on our website.
Chronicle of the city
The city hall collection includes many works from the 20th century by painters from the Groningen art circle De Ploeg, including Jan Altink, George Martens, Jan van der Zee, Johan Dijkstra, Arie Zuidersma and Marten Klompien. Older works, including Folkert Bock, Herman Collenius, Otto Eerelman and some portraits of the mayor, in some cases even go back to the end of the 16th century. Because mainly work by Groningen painters has been purchased, many paintings have important events in and around the city as their subject. The collection has thus become a chronicle of the city.
The collection includes familiar paintings such as Horse Inspection on the Grote Markt by Otto Eerelman and a representation of the Siege of Groningen in 1672 by Folkert Bock – both hang in the lobby of the City Hall. There is also work by Jozef Israëls and H.W Mesdag and there are mayor portraits and paintings of the royal family.
What art is in the mayor's office?
Most of the collection is on display in the City Hall. With a QR code at the works, you as a visitor can immediately find out more information about a specific work of art. Other works of art are kept in the depot or are hung elsewhere because they no longer fit in the town hall, which was completed completely renovated in 2022. Some works can be viewed online, but cannot be seen by visitors of the City Hall. This concerns, for example, paintings in the offices, such as works that hang in the room of mayor Koen Schuiling, including A morning at the beach by Hendrik Willem Mesdag.
The town hall collection can be found at www.kunstpuntgroningen.nl/stadhuiscollectie. You can filter by type of art, technique and artist. Information about all works is available in both Dutch and English.