The Timken Museum of Art unveiled a rare painting by 17th Century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer that will be on display for four months as the Balboa Park institution celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“Woman in Blue Reading a Letter” is one of only 36 known paintings by the Dutch Golden Age artist, who specialized in hauntingly realist interior scenes of middle-class life. His work was popularized in the 2003 movie “Girl With a Pearl Earring.”
The painting was unveiled to museum supporters at a private ceremony Wednesday night, and will be on free public view beginning Thursday.
“Woman in Blue” is on loan from the prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
“It’s a very special piece,” said David Bull, visiting director of the Timken. “He is one of the great craftsmen in the history of art.”
The museum’s collection is housed in a landmark mid-century modern building at the Plaza de Panama. “It’s a small collection,” noted Bull, “but it covers the whole range.”
The Timken is always free to the public. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
