About

Maurice Verbaet

Born in Antwerp in 1951, Maurice Verbaet is a collector and patron of the arts. From an early age, family travels and frequent visits to European museums shaped his eye, nurtured his passion, and directed his interest toward modern art. He acquired his very first works—primarily works on paper—at a young age and with limited financial means: while still in school, he sent his mother to auction houses in Antwerp. He later took over his grandfather’s small brokerage firm and, at the age of 25, became the youngest stockbroker in Belgium. Developing his professional activities independently allowed him to significantly expand his collection, which gradually took shape around a strong interest in Belgian art from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly the post-war period.

Married for the first time at the age of twenty, he became the father of four children at a very young age. Following his divorce, he remarried and had three additional children. In the early 2000s, he decided to end his financial activities in order to devote himself entirely to his collection, founding his own private museum in Antwerp, the Maurice Verbaet Art Center, which closed in 2018. That same year, he opened a major gallery in Knokke, on the Belgian coast, and participated in several art fairs in Belgium and abroad to promote post-war Belgian art. At the request of certain heirs and rights holders, he took a closer interest in bodies of work he considered powerful yet insufficiently defended or unjustly forgotten, actively committing himself to restoring their visibility. His collection is now considered one of the most important collections of twentieth-century Belgian art. He notably acquired the rights to the work of the Belgian-Polish sculptor Tapta (born Maria Wierusz-Kowalski) and actively champions the work of Jean-Pierre Maury, Hugo Claus, Francis Dusépulchre, Lukasz Kurzatkowski, André Willequet, Pierre Célice, and Jean Rustin, among other artists represented in his collection.

Maurice Verbaet upholds a simple and concise philosophy that he likes to summarize as follows: “Everything we can do ourselves, we do with high standards and transparency. If something goes wrong, we look in the mirror and learn how to improve.” This approach encapsulates the spirit of the MVC: an independent and rigorous private institution deeply committed to the preservation of Belgian artistic heritage and to the transmission of the major post-war figures to future generations.
Mission
PRESERVE, STUDY, PROMOTE, DISSEMINATE
The MVC is dedicated to preserving and rediscovering the works of Belgian artists active in the decades following the Second World War, a period marked by intense artistic vitality in abstraction, experimentation, and conceptual thought. This mission is built on three pillars: bringing to light artists who have been unjustly overlooked or insufficiently recognized by the international public; encouraging academic and curatorial research on Belgian modernism; and supporting collectors as well as public and private institutions in the rediscovery and acquisition of major works from this foundational period. Among the artists who defined the visual and spiritual identity of Belgian modernity and who are represented within the MVC are:
- Tapta, a pioneer of soft sculpture, whose revolutionary works in textile and, above all, neoprene redefined the relationship between matter and space;
- Jean-Pierre Maury, an emblematic figure of Constructed Art, a master of contrast and formal rigor in carefully balanced geometric compositions;
- Francis Dusépulchre, an explorer of form and movement within an abstraction in constant equilibrium;
- Hugo Claus, writer and visual artist, a multifaceted figure of post-war creative renewal;
- André Willequet, a sculptor renowned for his work in wood and bronze, and a leading representative of lyrical abstraction, whose works are held in numerous museum collections.
The MVC also represents many other essential artists such as Fred Bervoets, René Guiette, Vic Gentils, Lukasz Kurzatkowski, Antoine Mortier, Paul Van Hoeydonck, Serge Vandercam and Mi Van Landuyt, all of whom made significant contributions to the Belgian avant-garde. In addition, there are two major French painters: Pierre Célice and Jean Rustin, whose estate is managed by MVC.
Infrastructure

The MVC operates its own workshops and employs specialized professionals, including a restoration and conservation studio, a carpentry and framing workshop, a painting and exhibition preparation studio, as well as a fleet of vehicles specifically equipped for the transport of works of art. This infrastructure ensures complete operational autonomy.
Advice and Expertise

The MVC is more than a center for the conservation and promotion of artistic heritage; it is also a place of advice and expertise for collectors, institutions, and art enthusiasts. It cultivates a network of passionate individuals united by a shared ambition: to promote post-war Belgian art on the international stage and to keep it at the core of contemporary artistic dialogue. To this end, the MVC offers market expertise, tailored guidance in the acquisition and sale of artworks, provenance research, restoration services, and exclusive events such as meetings, lectures, and private visits. For any request (advice, expertise, or purchase), please contact us at the email address below.