Design for a Van Gogh Museum was commissioned by the Dutch government in 1963 to Dutch architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld.[9] Rietveld died a year later, and the building was not completed until 1973,[10] when the museum opened its doors.[11] In 1998 and 1999, the building was renovated by the Dutch architect Martien van Goor,[12] and an exhibition wing by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa was added.[13] In late 2012, the museum was closed for renovations for six months.