The NGV Annual Appeal reflects the community’s great passion for growing the Collection for visitors to enjoy now and into the future. This year, the NGV has the opportunity to acquire seventeenth century Dutch artist Maria van Oosterwyck’s extraordinary still life painting, Still life with flowers and butterflies, 1668. Throughout European art history, still life works have played an important role, namely in Dutch collections.

As one of only approximately thirty known paintings by Maria van Oosterwyck in existence, Still life with flowers and butterflies provides the NGV with the unique opportunity to introduce the artist to the Collection and greatly strengthen our holdings of Dutch seventeenth century works. The rare nature of van Oosterwyck’s works is largely due to the artist’s remarkable attention to detail, exemplified in Still life with flowers and butterflies, 1668.

During her lifetime, van Oosterwyck was internationally celebrated as one of the leading Dutch painters, alongside her contemporaries, Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. Today, van Oosterwyck’s paintings remain highly sought after, a testament to this celebrated and highly influential still life painter. As the first professional woman still life painter of the seventeenth century, this acquisition would greatly enhance our representation of this period and tell the story of a significant woman artist throughout history.

We warmly invite you to support this appeal and we are truly grateful for donations of any size to make this acquisition possible.

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If you would like further information about supporting this acquisition, please contact the NGV Foundation team on (+61 3) 8620 2415 or ngv.foundation@ngv.vic.gov.au.

The NGV warmly thanks all supporters who have made gifts to help secure this significant work: