About Theo Arnold.
Theo Arnold is a former Dutch diplomat who hails from the Hague and
decided to stay in the Philippines after his retirement from the foreign service
in 2003 at the end of his last posting as Ambassador of the Netherlands to the
Philippines. His life as a diplomat brought him also to Malaysia and Thailand
in South-east Asia and to Tanzania in Africa. After so many years in the tropics
he decided not to return to the cold but to retire in the Philippines. Finally he
got time for his hobbies, painting, writing and his art collection.
Theo has a masters degree in international economics and has a keen interest in
cultural aspects of development. With the slogan “Culture Matters” he started a
consultancy in cross-cultural management.
By now Theo has lived in the Philippines for over 20 years and feels much at
home. He believes strongly that the Filipinos are among the most talented
people in Asia in the visual as well as the performing arts. He runs the JAV
Talent Unlimited foundation in support of young artistic talents.
Inspired by his observations about the impact of the “Filipino way” in the
development of the country and some of his lessons in life, he published a
novel in 2012 called “Torn Between Two Lovers”. The book deals with
questions of morality and cultural aspects of Philippine society, pictured from a
Western point of view, intertwined with the pitfalls of an affair between a
young woman longing for a family and a much older man looking for a
companion.
The Arnold Art Collection has grown over a period of over 50 years and consists of a large section of prints with Asia as subject as seen by the eyes of Western artists visiting Asia in the 19 th century, limited edition prints by and after the great European masters and paintings by Filipino artists.