Scope and Contents
The collection of J.F.G. Boom is diverse and varied in character. The young age of the collector did not yet put a strong mark on the acquisitions he made. Boom did not yet show a strong predilection for art from one age or school. Instead he collected drawings and prints of a very heterogeneoous origin. Besides some interesting drawings by artists such as Max Lieberman, Charles Eisen, Pedro de Mena and Theophile Steinlen, Boom owned a remarkable ensemble of early drawings by the Dutch artist Eugene Brands, which he received as a gift from the artist.
Dates
- Creation: 1520-1950
Creator
- Boom, J. Frank G., 1920-1953 (Person)
Conditions Governing Use
Regulations that apply during the use of these materials can be found on the website of Leiden University Library.
Biographical / Historical
Jean François George (Frans) Boom was born in 1920 as the son of the Amsterdam doctor B.K. Boom. He started collecting prints and drawings, mainly by Dutch artists, during his studies at the University of Amsterdam, where he majored in Art History. From 1943 to the end of the Second World War Boom went underground to hide from the enemy. After the war he resumed his study and graduated in 1949. Shortly after his graduation he visited Florence and Paris in the autumn of 1949, where he purchased drawings and prints from art dealers (Olschki and Bruscoli in Florence, the flea market in Paris). Back in Holland he enlisted for a training as a diplomat and was sent to the Indonesian island Sulawesi, back then a colony of the Netherlands. Soon after his arrival in the city of Makassar he was infected with polio which led to his untimely death in 1953.
Extent
155 drawings and 103 prints
Language of Materials
Undetermined
Abstract in Dutch
Bequest of a small collection of drawings and prints, gathered by J.F.G. (Frans) Boom (1920-1953). The drawings and prints originate from various European schools and date from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The collection is remarkable for its large number of early surrealist drawings by Eugene Brands.
Abstract in English
Nalatenschap van een kleine verzameling tekeningen en prenten, verzameld door J.F.G. (Frans) Boom (1920-1953). De tekeningen en de prenten zijn afkomstig uit verschillende Europese scholen en dateren uit de zestiende tot de twintigste eeuw. Deze verzameling is met name opmerkelijk vanwege een groot aantal vroege surrealistische tekeningen van Eugene Brands.
Physical Location
Leiden University Library, Special Collections
Other Finding Aids
The catalogue of the exhibition of the Boom collection in the Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal (Bolten 1968) contains a short introduction and a complete survey of all the drawings in the collection, with the exception of the ones by Eugene Brands, which are represented by three specimens.
Custodial History
Boom purchased most of his prints and drawings at auctions in Amsterdam (mainly the auction house of P. Brandt) and at art dealers in Paris and Florence. The drawings by Eugene Brands were a gift to him by the artist. Boom kept notes of his purchases in a notebook, a copy of which is in the archives of the Print Room. The original remained with his family.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The parents of the collector, mr. and mrs. dr. B.K. Boom-Sybrandi bequeathed parts of Boom's collection to the Print Room of the University in 1967. Other parts remained with the family or were sold at auction, like works by Jacobus van Looy, Odilon Redon and Rodolphe Bresdin.
Accruals
No additions are to be expected.
Bibliography
- . De collectie Jean François George Boom, Leiden. Leiden 1968.
General
The material in this collection can be requested at the Special Collections Reading Room. Prints and drawings can be requested by referring to either their inventory numbers or by the names of the artists. The inventory numbers can be deduced from the online catalogue.
Processing Information
The drawings and prints have been integrated into the general collections of drawings and prints.
Subject
- Boom, J. Frank G., 1920-1953 (Person)
- Brands, Eugène, 1913-2002 (Person)
- Eisen, Charles, 1720-1778 (Person)
- Liebermann, Max, 1847-1935 (Person)
- Mena, Pedro de, 1628-1688 (Person)
- Steinlen, Théophile Alexandre, 1859-1923 (Person)
- Title
- Collection guide of the Jean François George Boom collection (1520-1950)
- Subtitle
- Collectie Jean François George Boom
- Author
- Jef Schaeps, 2006
- Date
- 2006
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- This finding aid has been written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Leiden University Libraries Archives & Collections Repository
Witte Singel 27
Leiden 2311 BG Netherlands
+31 71 527 2857
specialcollections@library.leidenuniv.nl