The Museum Panorama Mesdag, with its famous panoramic painting of Scheveningen, will be a state museum from 1 January 2026. Minister Moes (Education, Culture and Science) announced this today. The museum is in dire financial straits. The descendants of Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten have therefore decided to transfer the collection and the museum building to the State. This way, this unique and impressive heritage will remain accessible to the Dutch and international public.
Minister Moes (Education, Culture and Science): "I am proud that Museum Panorama Mesdag will become a state museum. The panorama, which Mesdag painted with his wife and other painters, more than a century ago, is a vista of the Netherlands of our ancestors. I find it extraordinary that after all these years, the family is entrusting the care of the collection to the state. Wonderful that we can preserve this unique heritage as a country so that many more can enjoy it."
Indispensable and irreplaceable heritage
The Panorama of Scheveningen shows a realistic view from the Seinpost dune. The canvas with a circumference of 120 metres and a height of 14 metres surrounds the viewer, as if you, the viewer, were actually standing on the dune yourself. Panoramas were popular tourist attractions in the 19th century, but unfortunately most of them have been lost. Mesdag's Panorama is the oldest surviving example worldwide. With more than a hundred thousand visitors every year, it has become a major cultural destination in The Hague.
Besides the panoramic canvas, the collection includes paintings, drawings, prints and photo albums by Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten and contemporaries. The Protected Cultural Property Committee considers the entire collection to be irreplaceable and indispensable Dutch cultural property.
Steven Storm (descendant): "It is with pride and confidence that we as a family are taking this step. Our family - including Hendrik Willem Mesdag - has preserved this heritage with love and dedication for almost 140 years. Now the time has come to transfer it to the Netherlands, so that this unique treasure of national significance will continue to inspire, amaze and connect many in the distant future."
Iconic collection remains intact
The museum has been in financial dire straits for some time. To keep the collection together and avoid having to sell parts, the collection and museum buildings have been transferred to the State. For the public, not much will change: even as a state museum, Museum Panorama Mesdag remains responsible for exhibiting and managing the collection. For this, the museum receives a subsidy of 1.8 million euros per year from the OCW budget for museum institutions, mainly for the preservation and conservation of the collection.
Minke Schat (director Museum Panorama Mesdag): "This transfer marks a historic moment. The artistic, historical and emotional value of this heritage is unparalleled. We are deeply grateful to the family for their generational care, and look with optimism to the future in which we can share the Panorama and the collection even more widely."
Close ties with The Hague
The Hague municipality is delighted that this pearl of The Hague will remain preserved and accessible. In recent years, the municipality has worked hard to ensure that Museum Panorama Mesdag could keep its doors open to the public, including by providing emergency support. Even now that the museum will become a state museum, the municipality will remain closely involved. The municipal subsidy earmarked for the museum in the coming years will be used to increase the museum's visibility and accessibility among young people.
