Rijksmuseum to open new sculpture garden showcasing international works
Publication date: 13 January 2026 - 06:00
An exceptional donation from the Don Quixote Foundation will enable the Rijksmuseum to enrich the city of Amsterdam with a public sculpture garden of international stature. In this green space with three pavilions, visitors will enjoy sculptures by world-renowned artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Jean Arp, Roni Horn and Henry Moore. The new garden will also host temporary sculpture exhibitions. The Don Quixote Foundation is donating 60 million euros to fund the development of the new site. It is also giving a large number of sculptures on long-term loan to the Rijksmuseum. The museum’s new exhibition space will be known as the Don Quixote Pavilion and Garden at the Rijksmuseum.
This is a wonderful gift for everyone in Amsterdam. Local residents, city dwellers and art lovers will soon be enjoying the tranquil natural surroundings and artistic beauty.
Femke Halsema, Mayor of Amsterdam
This is a donation of historic significance, and a historic moment for the Rijksmuseum. It will give modern sculpture the visibility it deserves. It also marks an unprecedented enhancement of the Rijksmuseum’s collection of 20th-century art.
Taco Dibbits, General Director of the Rijksmuseum
Sculpture garden
The sculpture garden will be situated just a stone’s throw from the Rijksmuseum, at the intersection of Boerenwetering, Ruysdaelkade and Stadhouderskade. Three existing pavilions and their adjoining gardens will be merged with Carel Willinkplantsoen to form a single sculpture garden. The pavilions, built in the Amsterdam School style, will be open to the public for the first time. These buildings will be transformed into sculpture exhibition spaces designed by the London firm Foster + Partners. The garden itself will be designed by the Belgian landscape architect Piet Blanckaert.
Greater biodiversity
In addition to the outstanding sculptures, more space will be made for trees and plants. Twenty-two new mature trees and a wider variety of native flowers and plants will contribute to increased biodiversity in the city.
Free public access
The main entrance to the sculpture garden will be located on Stadhouderskade. Visitors will be able to access the sculpture garden free of charge during the day. Exact opening hours will be determined in consultation with the municipality and local residents.
Don Quixote Foundation
The Don Quixote Foundation is the Rijksmuseum’s largest private benefactor. It has supported the annual sculpture exhibition in the Rijksmuseum Gardens since the museum reopened in 2013, ensuring admission to the exhibitions remains free. Thanks to an additional donation of 12.5 million euros in 2023, the foundation has made it possible to continue staging exhibitions in the Rijksmuseum Gardens. In 2017, the foundation gave the unique flora and fauna albums of Anselmus de Boodt—containing more than 700 16th-century watercolours and drawings – on long-term loan to the museum. The foundation also supported the Rijksmuseum’s 2022 exhibition Crawly Creatures.
Permit
The permit application has been submitted, and the plan is for the sculpture garden to open in autumn 2026.
