Abraham Willet (1825 – 1888) was a Dutch art collector and amateur painter. Willet was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and married Louisa Holthuysen on 17 July 1861.Abraham Willet in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

Willet was a member of

Arti et Amicitiae Arti et Amicitiae (lat .: For Art and Friendship) is a Dutch artist's society founded in 1839, and located on the Rokin in Amsterdam. The Society (also called Arti for short) has played a key role in the Netherlands art scene and in particular in ...

. For years, his art collection was considered the basis of the Willet-Holthuysen museum collection, but recent research has shown that his wife was perhaps more influential in forming the collection.‘Bij wijze van museum’ : oorsprong, geschiedenis en toekomst van Museum Willet-Holthuysen, 1853-2010
on website of the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

File:SA 1636-Une heure de la nuit (cropped).jpg, ''Une heure de la nuit'', by Joseph Michel Ange Pollett File:SA 34607-Abraham Willet (1825-1888) kunstverzamelaar.jpg, Portrait of Willet by Coen Metzelaar File:SA 4711-Abraham Willet (1825-1888) kunstverzamelaar in XVII eeuws costuum.jpg, Willet in a

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

costume, by

Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech Count Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech (1823–1905) was a Polish nobleman, landowner, painter and art collector. Early life His was born as the younger son of Count Karol Filip Wandalin Mniszech (1794–1844), and his wife, Countess Eleonora Cetner ( ...

, 1877

References

1825 births 1888 deaths Art collectors from Amsterdam {{Netherlands-painter-stub