"Rembrandt." Association for the Preservation of Art Treasures in the Netherlands

This exhibition was organised by the Vereniging Rembrandt (founded in Amsterdam in 1883 to prevent important Dutch artworks from leaving the country) and held at Arti et Amicitiae, the artists’ society on the Rokin. Its sole Vermeer entry was The Love Letter, catalogued as no. A (unpaginated).

The context of the showing was inseparable from the painting’s acquisition. On 29 March 1892 the work came up at the Messchert van Vollenhoven sale in Amsterdam as lot 14, sold for 41,000 guilders to J. Ankersmit acting on behalf of the Vereniging Rembrandt. The society held the canvas through the rest of the year before facilitating its transfer to the Rijksmuseum in January 1893 (inv. SK-A-1595), where it has remained ever since.