The Jacobus van Looy Foundation’s objective is to promote the interest in the work of both writer and painter. The collection has been given on loan to the Frans Hals Museum for an unlimited period and parts of it are put on display from time to time. The collection of letters is in the care of the Literary Museum. Once every five years, the Foundation awards the Van Looy Prize to a man or woman who has a double talent, just as Jacobus van Looy had.

After Jacobus van Looy’s death in 1930, his entire collection of paintings, letters, manuscripts and personal belongings were preserved by his wife Titia. She did her utmost to keep Jacobus’ memory alive: she had the house in Haarlem enlarged and converted into a museum devoted to the memory of her late husband. In 1940, she bequeathed it to the City of Haarlem.

After the war, the City of Haarlem decided to renounce the bequest. The house and the entire collection were to be put up for auction. In order to prevent the collection from disintegrating, the Jacobus van Looy Foundation was established in 1948. It bought a large part of the collection at the auction.