The Jan van der Togt Museum celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016. This anniversary was celebrated in style from September 15, 2016, to January 8, 2017, with three exhibitions under the banner '25 years of Jan': 'Sam Francis & Friends – Ting, Appel, and Alechinsky', 'Jan van der Togt & Jan Verschoor – A Friendship', and the opening of the new museum wing 'The Treasure Room'.

'Friendship' is the common thread running through the history of the Jan van der Togt Museum. The exhibition '25 Years of Jan' tells the story of the warm relationship between art collector and museum founder Jan van der Togt and artist Jan Verschoor, who was director of the museum for almost 25 years.

With Verschoor at his side, Van der Togt built up a large collection of paintings by Sam Francis. The exhibition 'Sam Francis & Friends' shows early work by Francis, who was so beloved by the collector, and his artist friends Walasse Ting, Karel Appel, and Pierre Alechinsky.

In addition to sculptures by Verschoor and paintings by Francis, Van der Togt mainly collected glass art. The highlights from this international art collection will be given a permanent place in the new museum wing.

JAN VAN DER TOGT & JAN VERSCHOOR The founding of the Jan van der Togt Museum in 1991 was preceded by a long-standing friendship between Jan van der Togt, founder of the well-known Tomado factory, and Jan Verschoor. Van der Togt not only collected works of art by Verschoor, but also sought his advice when expanding his collection. Verschoor introduced Van der Togt to various art forms and artists, including the work of Sam Francis.

In 1990, they visited an exhibition of Francis' work at the Arti et Amicitiae artists' association in Amsterdam. The American artist's work made such an impression on Van der Togt that he began to build up an extensive collection. Two years later, Van der Togt and Verschoor visited an exhibition of Francis's work at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn. There they met Francis in person, as well as his artist friends Walasse Ting and Karel Appel.

SAM FRANCIS & FRIENDS Sam Francis lived and worked in Paris in the 1950s. There he became friends with Walasse Ting, Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky, and others. Over the years, the artists inspired each other in their work; occasionally they even created art together. An example of this is the painting 'à deux pinceaux', created by Ting and Alechinsky, which was also on display in the exhibition.

The exhibition focused primarily on the Paris period—the 1950s and 1960s. Among other things, it featured lesser-known abstract works by Ting, as well as remarkable paintings by Francis inspired by Claude Monet's water lilies. The exhibition also featured poetic correspondence between Ting and Francis and colorful costumes by the Chinese-American artist that had never been exhibited before.

THE TREASURY To showcase its permanent collection even more beautifully, Museum Jan van der Togt opened a new wing with two spacious exhibition rooms. 'The Treasure Room' provides a permanent home for the highlights of the international art collection: the leading glass collection and paintings by Sam Francis. This has expanded the museum's exhibition space by 300 m².