Loet vanderveen biography of william

Loet Vanderveen was born in Rotterdam, Holland.

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Loet Vanderveen

Loet Vanderveen was born in Rotterdam, Holland. His home was very close to the zoo where during his early years, Loet spent a great deal of his time. It was during this period in life that he developed his love for animals. At night, listening to the sound of wild animals in the zoo, he would fantasize about safaris to Africa Fantasies which were eventually realized! Hours before the bombardment of Rotterdam the Dutch army was ordered to destroy all of the dangerous species in the zoo. The animals were destroyed as well as his home and these events led Loet into a new phase in his life. 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 Depart

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Loet Vanderveen with Seated Cheetah.

By Bonnie Gangelhoff

When sculptor Loet Vanderveen was growing up in the Netherlands, he was a frequent visitor to the Rotterdam Zoo. The personal allowed the eager youngster to enter the monkey cages to feed and pet the primates. At night, because Vanderveen’s family lived close to the zoo, the boy could hear the lions roar from their cages.

The regular forays to the zoo might have continued had World War II not intervened and abruptly changed the tenor of everyday life for Vanderveen. Indeed, little could have prepared him for the fate that would befall his country and his beloved animals at the Rotterdam Zoo.

In , on the eve of an impending German bombardment, Dutch soldiers shot and killed the zoo’s rovgirig animals. Officials took the cautionary measure because they feared the lions and tigers would threaten citizens if they got loose. During the bombing Vanderveen and his family took shelter in a neighbor’s cellar. When

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Loet Vanderveen

Work Exhibited:

Art Museum-Cincinnati, Ohio

Art Museum-Syracuse, New York

Crocker Gallery Museum-Sacramento, California

De Young Museum-San Francisco, California

Hirschl Adler Galleries-New York City

Minneapolis Art Institute-Minneapolis, Minnesota

Museum of Art-Oakland, California

Museum of Contemporary Crafts-New York City

Pasadena Art Museum-Pasadena, California

Monterey Museum of Art-Retrospective-Monterey, California

Architectural Commissions:

U.S. National Bank-Omaha, Nebraska

Borax Building-Los Angeles, California

Bush Gardens-Van Nuys, California

Carthay Circle Building-Los Angeles, California

Church Leisure World-Seal Beach, California

Fireman’s Union Building-Los Angeles, California

First Hebrew Congregational Church-Salinas, California

Northern California Savings Bank-Santa Cruz, California

Northern California Savings Bank-Menlo Park, California

Northern California Savings Bank-Los Altos, California

Cuesta College-S