Art That Speaks

A few years ago, I came across the name Adrianus Miolée, a Dutch painter whose quiet painting once hung in Corrie ten Boom's bustling home in Haarlem, just outside Amsterdam. He lived in the time of her family, walking the same cobblestone streets.

Corrie, a Holocaust survivor and author of The Hiding Place, spent her later years traveling the world sharing a message of forgiveness and the love of God. By her side for nearly a decade was Ellen de Kroon, a young woman who served as her assistant. When Ellen married, Corrie gave her one of the last possessions from her family home: the painting by Miolée. Ellen still has it to this day. (I’ve had the privilege of connecting with Ellen over the past couple years, and her stories are every bit as meaningful as Corrie’s books.)

So you can imagine my awe when I found one of Miolee’s works myself, this one depicting the sand dunes outside Haarlem, a place Corrie often referenced in her book, In My Father’s House. It now hangs in my home, a symbol of faithfulness, connection, and perseverance.

This is why I create and collect art:

Not just to fill a space, but to tell a story.

To anchor meaning in the rooms where we live and work.

To remind us of things worth remembering.