The Mesdag Collection, then known as Museum Mesdag, opened in 1887. The gallery was built onto the residence of the artist and collector Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831–1915) and his wife, Sientje Mesdag-Van Houten (1834–1909), for the purpose of housing their collection. It was open to the public on Sunday mornings, and Mesdag himself gave tours. Vincent never visited Museum Mesdag while he lived in The Hague, simply because it did not yet exist. He did, however, know of works from the collection, some of which he had seen in the exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art. Museum Mesdag can still be visited today. Because Mesdag collected contemporary work, the museum and its collection provide a good survey of the work of Vincent’s generation.