The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, home to the largest collection of works by one of the world’s most loved artists, is embroiled in a bitter feud over financing with the Dutch Ministry of Culture that could lead to its closure if left unresolved much longer.

The museum, a national treasure that attracts some 1.8 million visitors a year, needs a refurbishment to preserve its more than 200 paintings and nearly 500 drawings by Vincent van Gogh, but two years of negotiations with the ministry over funding have reached an impasse, Emilie Gordenker, the museum’s director, said.

“If this situation persists, it will be dangerous for the art and dangerous for our visitors,” said Gordenker, who took over at the museum in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. “This is the last thing we want — but if it comes to that, we would have to close the building.”

That claim is supported by an independent committee, which raised serious concerns about the building in a report published last year. The museum has sought a $2.9 million increase in its annual government subsidy of some $10 million to pay for repairs to its climate control system and elevators, and to improve fire safety, security and sustainability.

The ministry says the museum should cover the shortfall itself.

The museum has now filed a legal complaint against the state that is likely to lead to a court hearing in the next several months. The complaint contends that the Dutch state is in breach of a 1962 agreement that it signed with the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, which was established in 1960 by the artist’s nephew and heir to preserve a large collection of works that were unsold when the artist died.