Clouds, Ice, and Bounty: The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Collection of Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings

National Gallery of Art, Washington

October 17, 2021–February 27, 2022

Simon de Vlieger, Estuary at Day's End, c. 1640/1645
oil on panel, overall: 36.8 x 58.4 cm (14 1/2 x 23 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund and The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund in memory of Kathrine Dulin Folger

From majestic seascapes and expansive landscapes to lively genre scenes and rich still lifes, Dutch and Flemish paintings of the 1600s reveal the ways art helped the young Dutch Republic define a collective cultural identity. On view from October 17, 2021, through February 27, 2022, Clouds, Ice, and Bounty: The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Collection of Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings presents 27 paintings acquired by the National Gallery of Art through the generosity of the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund over the past 25 years, plus one painting from Lee and Juliet Folger's personal collection.

Outstanding works by artists such as Salomon van Ruysdael and Clara Peeters, along with recent acquisitions by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Dirck Hals, fill the West Building's Dutch and Flemish Cabinet Galleries. The construction of these galleries in 1995 was also supported by the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund. This suite of spaces, newly refurbished for the exhibition, emulates the domestic environments for which many of the works were originally created, providing viewers with a uniquely intimate viewing experience.

"The National Gallery's collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings—one of the finest outside the Netherlands—owes much to the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, which for more than two decades has generously supported the acquisition of exceptional works by artists at the height of their talents. Clouds, Ice, and Bounty offers visitors new ways to understand these highlights of our collection and provides a first glimpse of several new additions," said Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art.

Exhibition Organization and Curator

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The exhibition is curated by Marjorie E. Wieseman, curator and head of the department of northern European paintings, National Gallery of Art.

Exhibition Overview

Clouds, Ice, and Bounty features a broad range of landscapes, seascapes, genre scenes, portraits, and still lifes produced by Dutch and Flemish painters during the 1600s. The paintings represent the prosperity and progress enjoyed by the Dutch Republic and the neighboring province of Flanders during the period. However, the exhibition acknowledges that artists carefully selected what to depict of their time, typically avoiding the darker sides of progress. The Dutch and Flemish also experienced near-constant war, religious strife, sickness, poverty, and famine, and beyond their borders the Republic participated in the transatlantic slave trade and colonization. Throughout the exhibition, information about the paintings' historical contexts demonstrates how the compositions blend reality and fiction, revealing the values of the artists that made them, the patrons that commissioned them, and the collectors that cherished them.

Jan van Goyen's Ice Scene near a Wooden Observation Tower (1646) was undoubtedly painted in the artist's studio, but the close study of architectural details and masterful rendering of atmospheric effects indicate the artist's familiarity with this chill and blustery setting. The scene depicts one of the many waterways that were essential to both transport and recreation in the Low Countries. The various messages of genre scenes are illustrated in works like Jacob Ochtervelt's A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer (1663), which emphasizes the virtue of charity. Others, such as Philips Wouwerman's elegantly detailed The Departure for the Hunt (c. 1665/1668), appear to reflect the wealth—or aspirations of wealth—of their original owners. The exhibition's range of still lifes includes small-scale compositions like Still Life with Flowers Surrounded by Insects and a Snail (c. 1610) by Clara Peeters, one of the few women painters known to have been working professionally in the Low Countries in the early 1600s. Made while she was still in her teens, the painting's precise detailing suggests that Peeters studied the flowers and insects from life. Pieter Claesz's grand and vividly colored Still Life with Peacock Pie (1627) would have been admired by 17th-century viewers for the artist's skill in recreating the textures of the different objects and for the immense luxury and abundance those objects represented.

Clouds, Ice, and Bounty includes several paintings that were acquired in the past year, some of which will be on view for the first time as a result of the National Gallery's temporary closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include Jan Brueghel the Elder's Wooded Landscape with Travelers (1610), a fictionalized view of farmers, herdsmen, and others crossing paths on a road through the woods. On public view for just one day before the museum's closure in March 2020, Dirck Hals's brightly colored Merry Company on a Terrace (1625) is the first painting by the artist to enter the National Gallery's collection. The merry company—a popular subject depicting carefree young men and women—shows the influence of the artist's older brother, Frans Hals, in its animated brushwork. Also acquired in 2020, Adriaen Coorte's Still Life with a Hanging Bunch of Grapes, Two Medlars, and a Butterfly (1687) is striking in its stark simplicity. The painting is the second work by Coorte to enter the National Gallery's collection. It will be installed alongside the artist's Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants (1696), which was acquired in 2002.

Jan Miense Molenaer
Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, c. 1636/1637
oil on panel
overall: 38.7 x 32.4 cm (15 1/4 x 12 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Adriaen Coorte
Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants, 1696
oil on canvas
overall: 34 x 25 cm (13 3/8 x 9 13/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Godefridus Schalcken
Woman Weaving a Crown of Flowers, c. 1675/1680
oil on panel
overall: 26.7 x 20.3 cm (10 1/2 x 8 in.)
framed: 37.6 x 31.4 x 5.1 cm (14 13/16 x 12 3/8 x 2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Pieter Claesz
Still Life with Peacock Pie, 1627
oil on panel
overall: 77.5 x 128.9 cm (30 1/2 x 50 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Frans Snyders
Still Life with Grapes and Game, c. 1630
oil on panel
overall: 90.2 x 112.1 cm (35 1/2 x 44 1/8 in.)
framed: 111.8 x 133.4 x 7 cm (44 x 52 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund in Honor of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Circle of the National Gallery of Art

Cornelis van Poelenburch
Christ Carrying the Cross, early 1620s
oil on copper
overall: 44.2 x 62.3 cm (17 3/8 x 24 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

John Ward of Hull
The Northern Whale Fishery: The "Swan" and "Isabella", c. 1840
oil on canvas
overall: 48.9 x 71.8 cm (19 1/4 x 28 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

River Landscape with Ferry, 1649
oil on canvas
overall: 101.5 x 134.8 cm (39 15/16 x 53 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund and The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund. This acquisition was made possible through the generosity of the family of Jacques Goudstikker, in his memory.

Adam van Breen
Skating on the Frozen Amstel River, 1611
oil on panel
overall: 44.3 x 66.5 cm (17 7/16 x 26 3/16 in.)
framed: 55.88 x 78.74 x 5.08 cm (22 x 31 x 2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, in honor of Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr.

Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman
Amsterdam Harbor Scene, c. 1658
oil on canvas
overall: 61 x 81.8 cm (24 x 32 3/16 in.)
framed: 81.9 x 102.2 x 5.72 cm (32 1/4 x 40 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Thomas de Keyser
Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Fancy Ruff, 1627
oil on copper
overall (octagonal): 28 x 22 cm (11 x 8 11/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Jacob van Hulsdonck
Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl, c. 1620
oil on copper
overall (copper panel): 28.3 x 36.2 cm (11 1/8 x 14 1/4 in.)
overall (with wood strip edges): 29.6 x 37.3 cm (11 5/8 x 14 11/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Caspar Netscher
A Woman Feeding a Parrot, with a Page, 1666
oil on panel
overall: 45.7 x 36.2 cm (18 x 14 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Jan van Goyen
Ice Scene near a Wooden Observation Tower, 1646
oil on panel
overall: 36.5 x 34.3 cm (14 3/8 x 13 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Jacob Ochtervelt
A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer, 1663
oil on canvas
overall: 81.5 x 66.8 cm (32 1/16 x 26 5/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Frans van Mieris
A Soldier Smoking a Pipe, c. 1657/1658
oil on panel
overall: 32.4 x 25.4 cm (12 3/4 x 10 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Herman Saftleven
Imaginary River Landscape, 1670
oil on panel
overall: 17 x 23.2 cm (6 11/16 x 9 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Jacob van Ruisdael
Dunes by the Sea, 1648
oil on panel
overall: 45.4 x 61.6 cm (17 7/8 x 24 1/4 in.)
framed: 64.77 x 83.19 cm (25 1/2 x 32 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Willem van de Velde the Younger
An English Warship Firing a Salute, 1673
oil on canvas
overall: 66.4 x 52.9 cm (26 1/8 x 20 13/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Clara Peeters
Still Life with Flowers Surrounded by Insects and a Snail, c. 1610
oil on copper
overall: 16.6 x 13.5 cm (6 9/16 x 5 5/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Philips Wouwerman
The Departure for the Hunt, c. 1665/1668
oil on panel
overall: 52.1 x 67 cm (20 1/2 x 26 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund, in honor of Earl A. Powell III, Director of the National Gallery of Art (1992-2019)

Jan Jansz van de Velde III
Still Life with Stoneware Jug and Pipe, 1650
oil on panel
overall: 35.9 x 27.9 cm (14 1/8 x 11 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Dirck Hals
Merry Company on a Terrace, 1625
oil on panel
overall: 38.7 x 51.5 cm (15 1/4 x 20 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Adriaen Coorte
Still Life with a Hanging Bunch of Grapes, Two Medlars, and a Butterfly, 1687
oil on canvas
overall: 38.1 x 30.5 cm (15 x 12 in.)
framed: 47.31 x 40.64 x 5.4 cm (18 5/8 x 16 x 2 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Jan Brueghel the Elder
Wooded Landscape with Travelers, 1610
oil on panel
overall: 37 x 58 cm (14 9/16 x 22 13/16 in.)
framed: 72.39 x 73.98 x 3.49 cm (28 1/2 x 29 1/8 x 1 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Jan van Kessel
Auricula and morning glory with shells and insects, 
oil on panel
overall: 16.5 x 22.7 cm (6 1/2 x 8 15/16 in.)
Private collection-on loan

Publication

A fully illustrated catalog has been published by the National Gallery. Written by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., formerly the National Gallery's curator of northern baroque paintings, the volume opens with an essay on the development of the Dutch and Flemish painting collection. Individual entries consider the compositions and techniques, as well as the broader historical contexts, of each work. 

For more than two decades, Lee and Juliet Folger have worked closely with the National Gallery of Art to acquire exceptional seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings. Clouds, Ice, and Bounty honors this remarkable group of paintings and the collaborative relationship that has brought them into the nation’s collection. To date, twenty-five works (including one British painting) have been purchased for the Gallery by the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund. The same fund also enabled the construction of the Dutch and Flemish Cabinet Galleries. These intimate spaces, nestled among the grand galleries of the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, encourage quiet contemplation of the sort of masterful, small-scale works to which the Folgers are drawn.

The Folger paintings highlight the everyday pleasures of the Low Countries in the seventeenth century, a period of relative peace, prosperity, optimism, and reflection. An array of still lifes envelops the senses with enticing foods, lush blossoms, and impossibly fragile insects. Landscapes and seascapes explore the Netherlandish lowlands and waterways, recording minute shifts in color and terrain as land and water spread out beneath towering skies. Genre scenes capture the fashion, pastimes, and personalities of the period.

All twenty-five paintings donated to the Gallery by the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund are reproduced and discussed in this book. Luxurious illustrations allow close examination of the many charming details and expansive vistas found in the Folger paintings. Catalog entries consider composition and technique as well as the broader historical context and meaning of each work. An introductory essay by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. tells the story of Lee and Juliet Folger’s connection to the Gallery and their thoughtful collecting practice. A volume as exquisite as the art it celebrates, this book contains a treasure trove of Dutch and Flemish seventeenth-century painting.

172 pages | 81 illustrations | 9.25 × 10.75 inches