A Floral Pastel from Amsterdam Curated Joins the Collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum
Every now and then, a piece leaves our shop that reminds us why we do what we do.
We're incredibly proud to share that one of the antique floral pastels we discovered and sold has become part of the collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, one of the UK's most respected art museums and the principal museum of the University of Cambridge. Its collection spans more than half a million objects, including masterpieces by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet and Degas, alongside one of Europe's finest collections of drawings, prints and works on paper.
The artwork is an elegant 19th-century French floral pastel, acquired through Amsterdam Curated before being purchased by the Fitzwilliam for its permanent collection. The museum has catalogued it as Still Life with Roses, dated 1868 and attributed to Marie-Claire Fontaine.
For us, this represents far more than a successful sale.
At Amsterdam Curated, we spend countless hours travelling and searching for exceptional antique paintings and works on paper. Every piece is chosen because it possesses something special: artistic quality, historical significance, craftsmanship, or simple decorative beauty. Occasionally, one of those discoveries goes on to find a home in a major museum collection, confirming what first caught our eye.
The Fitzwilliam has a long-standing reputation for collecting outstanding botanical art and floral works on paper, which makes this acquisition especially meaningful. Its holdings include celebrated flower paintings and drawings spanning several centuries, and continue to grow through carefully selected acquisitions.
Most of the artworks we source become treasured pieces in private homes around the world. But it's always an honour when one is recognised by an institution of this calibre — museums acquire with extraordinary care, weighing authenticity, condition, provenance, historical importance, and fit with their existing collection.
Moments like these are why we do this: finding overlooked treasures and giving them a new future, whether on a collector's wall or in one of the world's great museums.
We're privileged to have played a small part in this artwork's journey, and we're already looking for the next one.
If you'd like to explore the kinds of antique paintings and pastels we source, browse our latest arrivals or get in touch, we're always searching for the next hidden masterpiece.
