There once was…
A rich industrialist named Marinus van Dusseldorp. This owner of several flour mills in Rotterdam, commissioned the architect Michiel Brinkman in 1921 the construction of a country house with its own hunting grounds in leafy Drenthe. The estate is named 'Mansion Dennenrode'. In 1922 the mansion, a showpiece of the Amsterdam school, is finally ready. What Van Dusseldorp does not know at that moment is that he will not be able to enjoy his beautiful estate for long. Only a few years later he goes bankrupt, and after that Mansion Dennenrode will not only offer accommodation to a multitude of residents, it will also get a new name in the course of time…

We are turning the clock 70 years ahead: in 1992, the young couple Philip Wildevuur and Pascalle Verhees took over the reign of gallery Wildevuur at Estate Hiemstrastate, as the house was called from 1968 onwards. And they lived there for a long time and artfully…
 
All-round art experience
From the moment that Philip and Pascalle take over the gallery, they decide to make something special out of it. You already have galleries, beautiful art too. Their vision is very progressive at that time: they choose to offer an all-round art experience. With that they go a big step further than the average art gallery. Estate Hiemstrastate lends itself perfectly as a picturesque backdrop for their ambitious plans. There will be a private framing shop in the former coach house, a beautiful sculpture garden, an art library, exhibition space and finally a tea house, very appropriately called 'Carpe Diem'. Art lovers will be treated to, among other things, art concerts, exhibitions, lectures and workshops. This unique concept has brought Gallery Wildevuur several times in the top 5 of best galleries in the Netherlands. 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of a quarter of a century of art experience.

25 years of art with a quip
Also with regard to the artworks, which are included in the collection of gallery Wildevuur, Philip Wildevuur and Pascalle Verhees do not choose the standard. They are looking for figurative art that adds something: works of art with a wink, that radiate something special, or make the viewer think. To so they enter into a close collaboration with a select group of figurative painters and sculptors. Many artists open their own exhibitions and give lectures or workshops on the estate. For buyers there is always the possibility to meet the artist personally and thus to get to know the unique story behind the purchased artwork.
 
End is not yet in sight
Since 1992, more than 250 exhibitions have been organized at the Hiemstrastate estate and the gallery has opened its doors to many well-known and less well-known Dutch people. Through the gallery and webshop, artworks have been sold all over the world. Philip and Pascalle themselves guarantee the safe delivery of the purchased works. They regularly visit customers, for personal advice on the placement of a sculpture or other work of art. They still see the gallery as their life's work, a very fast whole where new, surprising elements are always added. Constants are a personal approach, a large dose of expertise and excellent service. In the leap year Philip and Pascalle want to come to a deepening of the existing concept, emphasis on improving the quality, originality and service to art lovers both at home and abroad.
 
Would you like to know more about the gallery and the Estate Hiemstrastate? Come and visit us, we look forward to your visit! A book was published in 2007 about the eventful history of the estate‘Dennenrode, Ode to a monument’. The book is on view and still limited for sale in the gallery.