Rembrandt Collection

The first comprehensive showing of Harvard's Rembrandt collection since 1976 will open today at the Busch-Reisinger Museum, officials said yesterday.

Peter L. Walsh, a spokesman for the Fogg Art Museum, called the collection "probably the best university collection and one of the better museum collections in the country" of Rembrandt's works.

"We really wouldn't be able to put a price on it," he added.

The exhibition, which includes five paintings, 15 drawings, and more than 50 etchings, is mainly made up of Harvard holdings, in addition to loans from private collections, Walsh said.

The earliest known of Rembrandt's seven existing letters is owned by Houghton Library and will also be on exhibit, according to an official inventory.

Not all of Harvard's etchings and drawings will be displayed. Walsh said "But students should know that they can come to the Print Room or the Drawing Study any time and look at not only any Rembrandt not on display, but also any other work," he added.

Walsh explained that the exhibition is connected with Literature and Arts B-22 "Rembrandt and His Contemporaries," a course taught by Professor Seymour Slive, organizer of the exhibition.

However, Walsh said he expects many members of the general public to visit the exhibit, not merely students enrolled in the course. Slive was not available for comment.

"Rembrandt: A Selection of His Works" will to until December 11, 1983. Admission is free for all viewers.