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Museum aan de A received a painting on Friday that hung on the wall of Koos Kerstholt at the Vismarkt for years. The museum receives the work from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
Koos Kerstholt ran Hotel Koos Kerstholt on the quiet side of the Vismarkt for many years; a hotel, café and restaurant with rooms. The business was a household name in Groningen in the sixties and seventies. Kerstholt himself too, by the way. He was an operetta man, actor, director and storyteller. His hotel functioned as a kind of gathering place for theater people and other artists.
On the night of January 27 to 28, 1966, the entire ground floor of his establishment was destroyed by fire. The upper floors, where hotel guests slept, were spared. In an episode of Beno’s City from 2008, the recently deceased city historian Beno Hofman talks about the fire. Housekeeper Bakker and sixteen guests, including actor Aart Staartjes, were able to escape over the roof. One person died.
Painting of the Grote Markt
After the fire, Kerstholt opened a new business at the old location: ‘Bij Koos Kerstholt’. Stadjer and amateur painter Ties Timmer offered to paint cityscapes for the walls, to replace the similar paintings that were lost in the fire. He made 24 that graced the shop for years. The works were auctioned in 1986. The painting that the Museum aan de A received on Friday is one of them.
“We are very happy with it,” says spokesperson Karlijn Donders of Museum aan de A about the almost two-meter-wide work. “The painting comes from an old lady. Her late husband bought it at auction in 1986.”
The painting shows the Grote Markt in 1773 with the Martini Tower. “It fits very well with our new museum where we want to focus more on personal stories of Groningen residents.”
Major renovation
Museum aan de A is slowly shaking off its past as the Northern Maritime Museum. The intention is for the new museum, which focuses on the history of Groningen, to open in 2026. First a major renovation will take place. For example, there will be an entrance on the Kleine der A and the museum plans to realize a café, gift shop and a space for temporary exhibitions.
A lot of money is needed to implement the plans. Some of this has already been received, but not nearly enough. Director Nicolette Bartelink hopes that the municipality of Groningen can help. Only when it is clear how much money is available for the renovation can the director say which plans can and cannot go ahead.
The painting still needs to be cleaned, but will certainly have a place in the new museum when it is finished. “Just like the story of Koos Kerstholt.”
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