One thousand paintings, statues and objects from the Dutch national art collection are going on sale through online auction site eBay, officials with the Institute Collection Netherlands (ICN) have announced.

ICN said over the weekend some objects have already been put online. They will be featured on eBay at a rate of 50 per week until October.

"It is the first sale of this size," said Marina Raymakers of ICN, which manages about 100,000 of the country's national art treasures.

"These are works that have not been on display in 100 years or works that do not fit in with the kind of exhibitions in museums."

She added most of the works were made through a government program in the 1980s, which paid artists for a certain number of works to be produced.

"Conservation is costly. There are the costs of maintenance of the buildings, keeping everything at the right temperature, security, transport, registration and documentation," sais Raymakers.

The move has upset some artists.

"They called me the Picasso of Amsterdam. I did not paint rubbish," painter Robert Kruzdlo complained to the NRC Next newspaper.

His work, Fear and Powerlessness of the Third World War, is on eBay.

Other artists are more philosophical.

"I don't see the auction as a loss but more a renaissance of my work, a rediscovery," said painter Willem Oorebeek, who hoped to reach a new audience through the internet.

Raymakers said what isn't sold through eBay may be put on the block at a traditional auction in October. Auction house Venduehuis has already selected another 300 items from the collection to be sold.

"What counts is that the works will have a new home," said Raymakers.