Kees de Waal - Every day the same sky

Mixed media (etching, watercolor and drawing)

Kees de Waal (1922-2025) was destined for his father's textile business from a young age. He therefore attended the Higher Textile School in Enschede. During the Second World War, his strikingly expressive drawings of people led to his acceptance at the Academy in Arnhem. De Waal studied painting and printmaking there from 1943 to 1945. For all those years thereafter, he effectively led a double life. On the one hand, he handled the commercial management, advertising, and styling of the fashion chain he founded: the current WE Fashion. On the other hand, De Waal worked—as far as time permitted—on his development as an artist. From 1984—at an age when the average Dutchman retires—he became a driven artist who, through his colorful and figurative graphic works, offered critical commentary on the global behavior of humanity. In this, De Waal identified with a bird that, in its free flight, soaring above the earth, observes the insignificant human existence. During his many travels through South America, De Waal was influenced by the Incas. He painted anthropomorphic beings, such as those we know from the work of the medieval painter Hieronymus Bosch. As a resident of Greenwich Village—in the immediate vicinity of New York—he was inspired not only by the dynamism of The Big Apple but also by the small things close to home. He also regularly experimented with new printing techniques. De Waal was beloved by a large group of collectors for his colorful and imaginative works. He exhibited regularly in various galleries and in Museum Jan van der Togt (now Museum JAN) in Amstelveen.