Our mission Our mission Our mission
The Frans Hals Museum is Haarlem’s museum of fine art, with a collection of international quality and anchored in the local community. We curate and exhibit the art of Haarlem, for its residents and visitors, for now and for the future. Our museum is named after Frans Hals, in his own day an innovator with a special attention to people. That is the foundation on which we continue to build.
The Frans Hals Museum strives to bring a wide diversity of people and art together, offering inspiration and encounters between people, artists and art, for and with
communities in the museum and increasingly also beyond.
The Frans Hals Museum distinguishes itself in three ways:
1. Our collection is internationally renowned and of high quality, with the world’s largest selection of works by Frans Hals, a collection of 16th- and 17th-century art that places it among the international top, and collections of modern and contemporary art of national importance.
2. Our museum buildings and our narrative are on a human scale: in our museum, our art and in the stories we tell, people are central, engaged and involved. Our historical complex in the heart of the city is a place to experience art together in a cosy, personal, wel atmosphere.
3. Envisaged impact: artists view the world in particular ways. As an art museum we encourage people to observe from different angles and we provide an open, inspiring place to meet and experience different perspectives. Our goal is therefore to help build an open, inspiring society.