Loet Vanderveen

LOET VANDERVEEN
JULY 24, 1921 – MAY 9, 2015
He escaped from occupied Holland and upon his arrival in England he was decorated for valor by Queen Wilhelmia. He served in the R.A.F. during the war. During the first eleven years following the war he lived in Zurich, London and New York working as a fashion designer. He was not satisfied with his profession and a meeting with Fong Chow, then curator of the Far Eastern Department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, led to private ceramic studies with Fong for the next three years. He learned a great deal about Chinese glaze techniques and applying fine glazes to the correct forms. This knowledge eventually led to applying patinas to bronze animal forms.
Mr. Vanderveen left New York and built a mountain top house and studio 1,600 feet above the Pacific Ocean along California’s remote Big Sur coastline. This environment was very conducive to Loet’s creativity. His first years in Big Sur were spent working on architectural commissions of ceramics, sculptured walls and lighting. Living in a remote area where there was an abundance of wildlife coupled with his love for animals prompted Loet to create ceramic animal forms. Striving for a more sophisticated and graceful image, he ventured into designing animals in bronze. Loet Vanderveen sculpture designs are enhanced by a rich palette of subtle patinas offering, uniquely stylized interpretations appreciated by distinguished worldwide collectors.
New production of Loet Vanderveen’s work will remain available to collectors only through authorized galleries working with Loet Vanderveen Legacy Editions. He established this prior to his death in order to assure his work would continue to be produced in accord with his exacting standards. Loet Vanderveen created each of the original sculptures and when the entire limited edition for each design is produced, the molds will be destroyed.