The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, opened on 14 September 1895 as an initiative of the local authority and private individuals. The Dutch Neo-Renaissance style museum building was designed by Dutch architect Adriaan Willem Weissman as part of a modernization project spearheaded by local citizens starting in 1850. The construction of the building was largely funded in 1890 by Sophia Adriana de Bruyn.[11] Specifically, it was built under the Vereeniging tot het Vormen van een Verzameling van Hedendaagsche Kunst (VVHK, Society for the formation of a public collection of contemporary art), which was founded in 1874, to house de Bruyn's collection of art and antiques that she donated to the city along with a considerable sum of money.[12] The Van Eeghen family also contributed to the construction costs and donated paintings from the collection of Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen.