And suddenly the KMSKA has 200 works of art richer

Thanks to a donation from the Eugeen Van Mieghem Foundation, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp has suddenly acquired more than 200 works of art.

Since Thursday, the KMSKA has acquired more than 200 works. The Eugeen van Mieghem Foundation has transferred 226 works by the Antwerp artist Eugeen Van Mieghem to the museum. Chairman of the KMSKA, Luk Lemmens, calls the donation “a proof of confidence in the museum as the custodian of important cultural heritage.” Van Mieghem’s work is inextricably linked to the city of Antwerp. Recurring themes in his oeuvre were the nightlife on the De Keyserlei, life in and around the port of Antwerp, and emigration to America. Van Mieghem grew up in his mother’s café, opposite the warehouses of the famous Red Star Line.

The donation, which covers all periods from Van Mieghem’s oeuvre, includes oil paintings, monotypes, pastels, etchings and lithographs. The collection also contains portraits of James Ensor and Willem Elsschot.

“The museum will preserve the collection and make it accessible to future generations,” Lemmens said. In the autumn of 2025, the KSMKA will present an exhibition about Eugeen Van Mieghem.