A tête-à-tête with Holland’s most iconic expert on 20th century applied arts: Frans Liedelmeijer

The last of the snowfall is slowly melting away as I walk along the Amsterdam canals towards the home of Frans Leidelmeijer.

It hadn’t dawned on me yet that within moments I would find myself amid possibly the most spectacular collection of 20th century applied arts in the Netherlands. After receiving a very warm welcome by its owner, my eye was immediately caught by a chair upholstered with parchment.

Several years ago, Leidelmeijer passionately described a similar chair by the Italian designer Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940) on an episode of Tussen Kunst & Kitsch, the Dutch equivalent of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. Leidelmeijer worked for the television program for 26 years and inspired many people to take a liking to 20th century applied arts.

G: After having worked as a professional art dealer for more than 45 years, you have slowed down a little and are currently working from home. What has been keeping you busy lately and what are your plans for the coming years?

FL: ‘In November 2016 the exhibition ‘Modern Dutch Design’ took off at the Wolfsonian Florida International University Museum in Miami. At the instance of the museum i wrote an essay for the catalogue about the “crossing cultures” influences between the Netherlands and Indonesia. The museum has been expanding their special collection through me ever since 1985.’

As for his future plans, ‘I will also be returning to the TEFAF art fair and sharing a stand with the French/American Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz. The last time I had my own stand was in 2009, when I brought a large collection of works by the Amsterdamse School. This year we will be showing a collection of Nieuwe Kunst furniture by, amongst others, Theo Nieuwenhuis, Lion Cachet and Dijsselhof. This will include a table by Dijsselhof that used to be part of the interior of the art dealership Van Wisselingh & Co. in the 80’s, when it was still housed on the Rokin.’

During our conversation, the bell rings and a Canon camera is delivered; informative vlogs will soon be offering some solace to those who miss Leidelmeijer on Tussen Kunst & Kitsch.

_{Interior of Van Wisselingh & co. featuring the table by G.W. Dijsselhof}

G: How did your taste and merchandise evolve throughout the years, since you started dealing 20th century applied arts in the 70’s?

FL: ‘Initially my partner, the late Daan van der Cingel, and I bought a lot of wind-up toys, “bric and brac” and dolls, but also Art Nouveau- and Art Deco vases. We used to make monthly shopping trips to Paris, but we - and accompanied by their “Fingerspitzengefühl” - also found lots of interesting objects in The Hague, due to the high number of cosmopolitan citizens here.

The centuries-old relationship between The Hague and the Indonesian Archipelago had also brought lots of applied arts to this city. I sold some of these pieces to museums in the Netherlands as well as abroad. Once more important and renowned curators and collectors started visiting our shop we realized that we had to find a new location; in Amsterdam’s Spiegelkwartier neighborhood. The most well-known antiquarians were established there, so I set-up a shop on the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat. That’s when we stopped selling toys and started focusing on Dutch styles ranging from 1880 through to 1940. This was also partly due to the influence of Charles Hofman en Gerrit Komrij and their collection of books about Dutch applied arts.

In 1983, when we were already settled into the Spiegelstraat, Daan and I wrote the book Art Nouveau and Art Deco in the Netherlands. After its publication, everything really took off’ Leidelmeijer tells me.

_{TEFAF stand (2009), Decorated in the style of the Amsterdamse School}

After owning a successful dealership in the Spiegelkwartier neighborhood for 25 years, Leidelmeijer was invited in 1997 to be a guest-curator for the exhibition 'Het Kunstvol Binnenhuis'. This exhibition celebrated Dutch interior art from 1895-1930.

Many of the pieces exhibited, including works by big Nieuwe Kunst names such as Lauweriks, Berlage, Wegerif, Van den Bosch and De Klerk, who unfortunately passed away at far too young an age, were loaned to the museum by Leidelmeijers relations. Therefore, this also marked the first time that some of these pieces were presented to the public.

Frans Leidelmeijer was knighted in 1998 for his inexhaustible effort to place Dutch applied arts on the map, in the Netherlands as well as abroad. A good example of his influences is the sale of two suites of furniture by Michel de Klerk (1884-1923) to the American collector Mickey Wolfson, the founder of the Wolfsonian Foundation, as mentioned above. Because of the inclusion of these pieces in the large Art Deco exhibition in London in 2003, the Dutch designer Michel de Klerk and the Amsterdamse School became internationally known and sought after.

Frans Leidelmeijer has also provided pieces to international museums such as the Centre Pompidou, the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert museum, the Metropolitian museum, the Rijksmuseum and many other important institutes.

In 2006 Frans Leidelmeijer decided to shut down his dealership on the Spiegelstraat and to auction off a significant part of his collection through Christie’s in Amsterdam.

The results of this auction, which fetched a total of 1,3 million euros, are available here

Frans Leidelmeijer Gallery is currently only open by appointment and will be presenting a collection high quality applied art during TEFAF, from March 10th to 19th.

For more curated fine art also have a look at Gallerease!