Gallery History

Founded in 1969, Leslie Smith Gallery is one of the leading galleries in 19th and 20th Century European art in the Netherlands, with an emphasis on Dutch (Romantic and the Hague Schools) and French (Impressionist and Post-Impressionist) paintings.

Hailing from America, Leslie Smith first became interested in Dutch painting around 1968, and in particular the famous old master paintings. He began dealing in art and soon became one of the foremost specialists of Dutch 19th century.

In 1986, the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem together with Leslie Smith organized the first major exhibition on Dutch Romantic school, ’The Second Golden Age of Dutch Art’, a term introduced by Leslie Smith and now widely acknowledged by the artworld. Included in this exhibition were a number of the most important works from the Leslie Smith collection.

Over the years, the Leslie Smith collection of Dutch 19th century art (Romantic and The Hague Schools) grew to include more works by international 19th and early 20th century artists, in particular Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters.

Since Leslie Smith´s death in 1990 his son David has taken over the business, becoming the second generation of Smiths to run the company.

In 1998 David Smith founded DS Contemporary with the goal of giving young Dutch artists who just graduated from the academy a chance to present themselves to a larger audience. DS Contemporary started off with an amazing exhibition in the Koetshuis on the Smidswater in The Hague with work of amongst others Tjebbe Beekman, Miguel Segall and Peter Zwaan. Today, Leslie Smith Gallery is still always on the look out for young talent with potential. Gradually, DS Contemporary has widened its focus on a select group of international contemporary artists, whose work fits within the high quality standard of Leslie Smith Gallery's collection.

During a round the world trip in 2006, David Smith and his partner Gabrielle also visited Australia. Here, they fell in love with Aboriginal Art and came back to the Netherlands with no less than fourteen pieces for their private collection. Only five years later, Leslie Smith Gallery has become one of the most important dealers in Contemporary Aboriginal Art in Europe.

The collection can be viewed at the Amsterdam gallery on the Minerva Square; also Leslie Smith Gallery exhibits at five major international art and antique fairs every year. Leslie Smith Gallery enjoys having an international clientele, including a number of museums and many private collectors.

The Gallery

Services

With 40 years of experience in the art world, we provide the following services to our (potential) customers: 

• Advice on the purchase and sale of paintings; 
• Appraisal of paintings; 
• Supervision and maintenance of (private) collections; 
• Assistance, advise and bidding at auctions; 
• Advice and guidance on the framing of paintings; 
• Restoration of paintings and advice about the possibilities; 
• Advice on transport and / or insurance of paintings; 
• Advice on the hanging and highlighting of artwork; 
• Professional photography of works of art; 
• Art storage, the (temporary) storage of valuable works. 

For more information please come by or contact our gallery in Amsterdam.