The Michaelis Collection is described as a “munificent gift of paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters of the 17th century, made by Sir Max Michaelis in 1914 to the people of South Africa, containing outstanding examples of that great flowering of art in the Netherlands.” These include works by Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Jacobs Ruisdael, Anthony van Dyck and numerous others. The Old Town House, where the collection is housed, has an interesting and chequered history and was built in 1755 in Cape Roccoco style. Many items of the Michaelis Collection are currently on loan overseas and the building in undergoing renovation.