DETROT, MICHIGAN.- The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) offers a comprehensive look at its renowned 17th-century Dutch painting collection in the new book Masters of Dutch Painting, published by D Giles Ltd. in association with the DIA. Over 100 color photographs, accompanied by artist biographies, commentary, and other comprehensive information lead the reader on a fascinating tour of one of the top collections of paintings by Dutch masters in the United States. The 280-page hardcover book sells for $70 and is available in the DIA’s museum shop.

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection is particularly strong in 17th-century Dutch paintings. “Dutch painting of the 17th century has occupied a prominent position in the DIA’s collection from the museum’s earliest years,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. “The foundation was laid in 1889 with a substantial gift by trustee James E. Scripps. In the 1920s director William Valentiner added to the collection with two spectacular acquisitions: Jacob van Ruisdael’s The Jewish Cemetery and Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Visitation.”

Other signature works explored in the book include Frans Hals’ Portrait of a Woman, Rachel Ruysch’s Flowers in a Glass Vase, Aelbert Cuyp’s Landscape with the Ruins of Rijnsburg Abbey, and two masterpieces by Gerard ter Borch—Lady at Her Toilette and Young Man Reading a Letter. Among the other artists featured are Karel Dujardin, Gerrit Berckheyde, Pieter de Hooch and Jan Steen.

Many of the Dutch paintings entered the collection as gifts or bequests from prominent supporters of the museum, including Ralph Harman Booth and other members of his family, Edsel and Eleanor Ford, Alfred J. Fisher, Edgar Whitcomb and Anna Scripps Whitcomb, Julius H. Haass and Lillian Henkel Haass, and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Fisher.

The book’s authors are George S. Keyes, DIA chief curator and Elizabeth and Allan Shelden Curator of European Paintings; Susan Donahue Kuretsky, Sarah Gibson Blanding professor of art at Vassar College; Axel Rüger, curator of Dutch paintings at The National Gallery, London; and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., curator of northern baroque painting at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.