The Dutch Touch Art Company, owned and operated by mother-daughter team Barbara von Schreiber and Shawn Silver, looks to bring the classic Dutch tradition of decorative painting into the 21st Century.  Surprising though it may seem, there is such a thing as classic Dutch decorative painting, and it has played an important role in how we think about an ideal room.

Dutch Touch designs and imports a unique collection of decorative, hand-painted oil paintings based on dozens of classics from the Golden Age of Dutch art, as well as a growing number of original designs that update these motifs for modern life.  In so doing, the company aims to preserve its own family traditions, to make new what is old, and to give a sense of timelessness to contemporary settings.  Dutch Touch paintings are as much at home in a modern loft as they would be in a New England country home.

If the idea of Dutch art simply conjures images of clogs and tulips, then a quick primer is in order.

In an unintended consequence of history, the Dutch revolutionized art for the home as a result of taking a philosophical stand during the wars of the Reformation.  In the Seventeenth Century, the newly independent Dutch Protestant Church, looking to break with Catholic Europe, banned religious scenes in painting.  Denied the annunciations and crucifixions that had been the art staple for centuries, Dutch painters instead focused on the seemingly mundane…bowls of fruit, flowers, animals and unpopulated landscapes.

The resulting art, which revealed beauty and meaning in small, unexpected places, resonated perfectly with the emerging Dutch merchant class.  Instead of painting for bishops and princes, Dutch artists produced works for seafarers, traders, and mapmakers.  Holland, now a center for world trade, introduced art into the sphere of décor and put a touch of Holland into living rooms around the world.

With a particular focus on images that mirror nature, the collection includes vivid still lifes of flowers and faithfully-rendered depictions of dogs, horses and wildlife.  Unique to our company is an expanding collection of original designs, as well as a selection of charming paintings for children.  Additionally, by enlarging details, revivifying the original colors, and often dramatically enhancing the scale of these paintings, The Dutch Touch Art Company is creating an entirely unique collection.

The company, and a guild of highly skilled contemporary painters, creates the collections by re-styling master’s works as well as photographs.  The paintings are then distributed wholesale to designers and retailers.  The firm is in a unique position to develop and produce for projects and private labels.

The Dutch Touch Art Company is a family-run business that has been growing steadily since it opened its doors in 2000.  Founded in The Netherlands by Nisje van Lawick-Krayenhoff and Daan Rueb, the company has expanded to the United States to include Daan’s sister Barbara von Schreiber, who also represents fine art and editorial photographers in New York City, and Barbara’s daughter Shawn Silver, of Los Angeles, formerly a television writer and producer.