Foundation for Art & Historical Artefacts

In 1899 the management of the life insurance company De Utrecht gave architect Jan Verheul (1860-1948) the assignment for the construction of a new head office on the Leidseweg in Utrecht. The De Utrecht building was built in the Dutch Art Nouveau style or Jugendstil. On January 1, 1902 the building was ready. De Utrecht was very satisfied. The building, together with the Belgian, French and Danish head offices, stood out as advertising on the policies of society. However, the building had to give way to the construction of Hoog Catharijne and was demolished in 1974.

The library was the most beautiful room in the building, a large, rectangular hall that also served as a meeting room. On the side where you entered the room, the whole wall was occupied by the bookcase. It was a characteristic part of the Jugendstil building and designed by architect Verheul. The bookcase contained the book collection of mr. Ingenegeren about insurance companies and insurers. The sometimes ancient books were about insurance, mathematics, economics and typography. After the demolition of the property, the bookcase ended up on the attic of the town hall. In the nineties the bookcase was placed in the Vitens gas station in Soestduinen. The bookcase has been stored in the Centraal Museum for a number of years. Now the bookcase was given a prominent place at a.s.r. Insurance company De Utrecht merged into a.s.r. The beautifully renovated building of a.s.r. is an appropriate place to restore the past.

On a regular basis, curator Sigrid Vegter organises exclusive tours, in which you can view the library cupboard. You can find the exact dates and register on the website www.kunstbijasr.nl

The Foundation does not seek to achieve profit and does not have any staff. a.s.r. employees are on hand to perform a number of duties; they are paid a fee. The Board members are not rewarded for their work for the Foundation. They are entitled to an expense allowance provided that the expenses they incur in performing their duties are not excessive.

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

Sigrid Vegter, conservator
Phone: +31 (6) 23 91 26 14