Bram van Velde
(Dutch, 1895–1981)
Biography
Bram van Velde was a Dutch painter known for his abstractions featuring expressive brushstrokes and oblong forms. “Creating a painting is a matter of ensuring that all its parts achieve unity,” he once said. Born Abraham Gerardus van Velde on October 19, 1895 in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands, he grew up in an impoverished family and was forced to work from a young age. In 1907, Van Velde apprenticed in the interior decorating company Schaijk & Kramers in The Hague, where his talent was encouraged by one of his bosses. As the breadwinner for his family, the artist was exempt from serving in World War I, and instead studied at the Mauritshuis museum copying the works of Old Masters. The owners of Schaijk & Kramers became Van Velde’s first patrons and in the early 1920s gave him a generous stipend to travel around Europe paintings. Arriving in Paris in 1924, his art was encourage by the French painter André Lhote as well as the playwright Samuel Beckett. Over the years that followed, the artist suffered through poverty and a lack of recognition. Though he was championed and supported financially by his friend Beckett, it was not until the late 1950s that he found admirers among a younger generation of artists, including Pierre Alechinsky. Van Velde died on December 28, 1981 in Grimaud, France. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Gallery in London, among others.
Bram van Velde Artworks
Bram van Velde
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