Foundation for Art & Historical Artefacts

In 1899 life insurance company De Utrecht's management commissioned  architect Jan Verheul (1860-1948) to build a new head office on the Leidseweg in Utrecht. The De Utrecht building was built in the Dutch Art Nouveau style or Jugendstil. The building was completed on January 1, 1902, to the immense satisfaction of De Utrecht. satisfied. The building, together with the Belgian, French and Danish head offices, appeared as an advertisement on the policies of the company. The building had to make way for the construction of train station and shopping mall Hoog Catharijne and was demolished in 1974.

The library was the most beautiful room in the building, a large, rectangular room that also served as a meeting room. On the side of entering the room, the entire wall was taken up by the bookcase. It was a characteristic part of the Jugendstil building and designed by architect Verheul. The bookcase contained the collection of books on insurance companies and insurers from director Ingenegeren. The books, some of which centuries-old, were about insurance, arithmetic, economics and typography. After the building was demolished, the bookcase ended up in the town hall's attic. In the nineties the cabinet was placed in the Vitens Gas Station in Soestduinen. The bookcase has since been stored in the Centraal Museum's storage for a number of years. Today, the bookcase had been given a prominent place at a.s.r. Insurance company De Utrecht merged into a.s.r. and the beautifully renovated building of a.s.r. is an appropriate place to re-establish the past.

The foundation is non-profit and does not employ any staff. A number of tasks are performed by a.s.r. employees, who receive compensation. Board members are not rewarded for their work for the Foundation. They are entitled though to reimbursement of their expenses when proportionate.

Stichting Kunst & Historisch Bezit ASR Nederland
Archimedeslaan 10, 3584 BA Utrecht / Postbus 2072, 3500 HB Utrecht
The Netherlands