‘Three legs dancing and playing in the sun’

Arthur van der Pols (1941-2014) was a graphic artist, lithographer, etcher, linocutter and maker of woodcuts. He enjoyed a classical upbringing; his mother was a Greek and Latin teacher, his father a politically engaged businessman. Van der Pols was educated at the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam, where he continued to live and work and was a member of the Professional Association of Visual Artists (BBK).

If the artist saw something interesting, he drew made it. For his daily life (a four-poster bed for the apartement where he lived with his wife) and for his work (he built his own litho press). He was a perfectionist: printing was a labour-intensive process, also because it was not allowed to make any mistakes. He was commited to his work, but also active in society: he regularly rebelled against abuses.

The subjects of his oeuvre are diverse, he is known for his figure representations: also the genre of the object here. The movement in the work is intriguing, it maintains a wonderful balance between cheerfulness and threat. The caption of this work reads: Arthur ’66 eigen handdruk van Paula “Drie benen dansend en spelend in de zon” (Three legs dancing and playing in the sun).

Dimensions: shown in passe-partout 29 x 37 cm, frame size: 41 x 51 cm

This article was written with input from Van der Pols’ family for which I am very grateful. One of his daughters has followed him in his profession and works in Schiedam: https://sarahvanderpols.nl/en/.

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