The Tentoonstellingsraad voor Bouwkunst en verwante kunsten (Exhibition Council for Architecture and related arts) was founded around 1920. Its objective was to mount exhibitions ‘to promote the flowering of the arts'. The members were representatives of various associations in the field of architecture, crafts, ornamental, and industrial arts.

A photography collection featuring the crème de la crème of Dutch architecture was compiled in the years 1925-1935. The photographs were meant to establish an ideal image: they emphasized artistic and esthetic architectural expressions. This collection was included in countless exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute administers the Exhibition Council's archives and photography collection. Many photographic prints have survived intact just as they were once exhibited: large formats on heavy-duty cardboard and bearing the original caption.