Tamar van Riessen (She/Her)

I am a second-year PhD candidate in Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter, supervised by Dr Meredith Hale and Dr Yue Zhuang. My doctoral research presents the first comprehensive study of the Dutch painter Pieter van Roestraten (1630–1700), who settled in London in the 1660s. Entitled Pieter van Roestraten (1630–1700) and the Global Table: Anglo-Dutch Exchange in the Late Seventeenth Century, my thesis investigates how Van Roestraten’s still lifes engage with questions of power and global trade in the late seventeenth century, situating his practice within the broader Anglo-Dutch artistic and economic networks of the period.

Awards:

• The Wolfson Foundation Scholarship, 2025-2028
• The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars Award, 2025-2026
• The Decorative Arts Trist Research Grant, 2026

Alongside my doctoral research, I am Assistant Curator of Old Masters at Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden. From 2023 to 2025, I was the Junior Curator of 17th-Century Dutch Painting at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. During my tenure, I co-curated the landmark exhibition Frans Hals (2024), organised in collaboration with the National Gallery in London and the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. I also curated Female Power (2021–2022) and Setting the Table (2023–2024) for the Rijksmuseum at Schiphol Airport.

My professional activities extend to several networks and committees dedicated to Dutch and Flemish art. Currently, I serve as a Vetting Assistant for Old Master Paintings at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) and as a Board Member of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. I am also a member of the IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) Committee of Historians of Netherlandish Art and the Website Committee of CODART, the international network for curators of Dutch and Flemish art.