Museum reconsiders lending masterpieces to the US

The Mauritshuis, one of the Netherlands' top museums, is considering no longer lending pieces to the United States.

Martine Gosselink, the director of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, watches with dismay as American president Donald Trump implements cuts at museums, libraries, and archives. She told The Guardian that her institution will be extra cautious if it lends pieces for exhibitions or research.

"If you lend a piece out to a museum and there is not enough staff to treat it in the way you want it to be treated, then we wonder whether it's a good thing to be sending our collection," said the museum director.

In the past, the Mauritshuis, like many other European museums, collaborated with American colleagues on loans and research partnerships. President Trump's policy may change that.

The Mauritshuis's collection includes Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft by Johannes Vermeer, and The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt.

(PP with DC - Source: Guardian - Picture: @ picture alliance / Rainer Jensen/dpa | Rainer Jensen)