The National Museum of History will hold a special three-month exhibition featuring the 19th century Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, starting December 11, officials said Tuesday.

Ninety-eight of Van Gogh's works — 77 drawings and 21 oil paintings — will be on display at the exhibition, which will run through March 28, 2010, said Kao Yu-chen, deputy director of the museum. Most of the works will be on loan from the Netherlands' Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo, but one piece — Vase with Flower and Thistles — will be from Japan's Pola Museum of Art, Kao said.

In preparation for the exhibition, the museum will be closed in October and November to allow for work to improve its facilities and security system to protect the priceless fragile paintings and ensure their safety, Kao said.

Kao said she has held many meetings with the staff of the Kroller-Muller Museum to discuss the security issue, and security personnel from the museum have also visited Taiwan many times to inspect the facilities and security system at the National Museum of History.

During the exhibition period, the Taipei City Police Department will also deploy round-the-clock patrols in the vicinity of the museum, she said.