Willem Dolphyn

Art Brokerage: Willem Dolphyn Belgian Artist: b. 1935-2016. Born in Antwerp on 17 May 1935, Willem Leo Jan Dolphyn was the only son of Victor Dolphyn and Anna de Ridder. In 1941 his father, Victor, began teaching at the Academy in Antwerp, and with his father already an established and talented artist, Willem clearly had painting in his blood. He began drawing at the age of 4 with a picture of a group of swans inspired after a visit to the Antwerp Zoo. I was at the age of 12 that through his grandfather’s tales, he began his interest in Eastern culture, and when he was 15, he signed up as an ordinary seaman to give himself the opportunity to travel and explore countries such as Turkey for himself. It was his first experience of the Eastern way of life and it made a deep impression on him. During the trip he made a series of miniatures recording the events of the journey. A profound interest in the Orient was formed on this adventure and this has grown into one of his life’s major passions. In 1957 Willem held one of his first shows when he exhibited a collection of miniatures at Nijenrode Castle in the Netherlands. It was a great success and heralded the start of good things to come. However, Willem would have to wait a few years for his first major breakthrough and in the interim; in around 1964, he began teaching figure drawing and still-life painting at the Mol Academy. 1968 became the pivotal year for Willem; with his first show at the Gebo Gallery wjich was very well received. Forty two landscapes and still-life paintings were sold and commissions flooded in which enabled him to give up his job at the Academy in Mol. He went on to design stamps for the Belgian post office in 1973 and to contribute to the 1974 group exhibition by the New Antwerp Realists.For Willem, the most important thing in life was his painting. He worked in his studio off Venustraat from 1963 to his death in 2016. For over 50 years, from that one spot, Willem created around 2,500 paintings. A monumental achievement for one man. The studio rooms were crowded with historic furniture, the shelves were loaded with treasures, fabrics, glassware and ceramics which span the centuries, gleaming and glinting in the Northern light, each piece collected with pride and all contributing to his incredible compositions. Willem often undertook commissions for friends, family and his collectors. Portraits, cherished places or his exceptional still lifes created with that personal touch to strike an enduring chord. Listings wanted.