Dutch collector Joop van Caldenborgh, founder of the chemicals company Caldic, discusses his lifelong art collecting journey in an interview with The Art Newspaper. He recounts buying his first work—a portfolio of prints by Peter Struycken—at age 16 with money from his paper route, and his latest acquisition, an eight-meter painting by Howardena Pindell from White Cube. Van Caldenborgh built Museum Voorlinden near The Hague in 2016 to house his collection, which includes works by Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois, and Anselm Kiefer, and has since donated the collection to the museum, continuing to add new acquisitions. The museum celebrates its tenth anniversary with an exhibition by choreographer William Forsythe.
This interview matters because it offers rare insight into the mindset of a major European collector who has created a public institution from a private passion. Van Caldenborgh's approach—buying quickly on instinct, sharing works with the public, and borrowing pieces he missed acquiring—reflects broader trends in philanthropy and museum-building among wealthy collectors. His candid remarks about art fairs, regret over not buying a Louise Bourgeois spider, and preference for quiet engagement with art over social events provide a personal perspective on the dynamics of the contemporary art market and collector behavior.