Exhibitions
Design Museum Dedel was opened on 1 July 2019 by Mrs. Hedy d’Ancona.
Now showing
from July 14
USA at 250: The hidden story behind a world power
In 2026, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. Design Museum Dedel marks this special milestone with an exhibition highlighting a surprising chapter in history. Huis Dedel, the building that now houses the museum, was the site of a historic agreement in 1782 that helped the United States secure its independence.
From The Hague to Washington
During the American Revolutionary War, the young republic was in urgent need of funds to continue its fight against Great Britain. The future president, John Adams, therefore travelled to the Dutch Republic to seek financial support. Thanks to a network of influential regents, bankers, and merchants from The Hague and Amsterdam, a substantial loan was eventually secured. The agreement was ratified during a dinner at Huis Dedel, an event that proved to be of great significance in the history of the United States.
250 Years of America in Posters
Alongside this remarkable historical story, the exhibition explores how America developed into a global power over the past two and a half centuries, viewed through the lens of graphic design. A rich collection of American posters takes visitors on a journey through the rise of advertising, consumer culture, and popular visual communication.
USA 250 shows that major moments in world history can sometimes begin surprisingly close to home.
Visit
The exhibition will be on view from 14 July at Design Museum Dedel, Prinsegracht 15, The Hague. Our volunteers will be delighted to tell you more about it.
permanent exibition
Art nouveau, a source of inspiration
In the library is a permanent exhibition of Art Nouveau posters.
Art Nouveau is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau were a sense of dynamism and movement, often given by asymmetry or whiplash lines, and the use of modern materials, particularly iron, glass, ceramics and later concrete, to create unusual forms and larger open spaces. It was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period, and was a reaction against the academicism, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decorative art.
One major objective of Art Nouveau was to break down the traditional distinction between fine arts (especially painting and sculpture) and applied arts. It was most widely used in interior design, graphic arts, furniture, glass art, textiles, ceramics, jewellery and metal work. The style responded to leading 19-century theoreticians, such as French architect Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879) and British art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900). In Britain, it was influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. German architects and designers sought a spiritually uplifting Gesamtkunstwerk ('total work of art') that would unify the architecture, furnishings, and art in the interior in a common style, to uplift and inspire the residents.
