Nel Klaassen

Nel Klaassen studied at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. Training under Gijs Jacobs van den Hof and Jan Bronner is recorded. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are figurative art. Places of work recorded in the authority are The Hague. Works named in the authority record are Eert de vrouw. Work by Nel Klaassen is recorded in the collections of Museum Arnhem, Stichting Kunst in de Publieke Ruimte in Arnhem, National Museum Paleis het Loo, TextielMuseum and Het Scheepvaartmuseum. Distinctions recorded are Prix de Rome.

• Name — Nel Klaassen • Other Names — Nel Bouhuys-Klaassen • Birth Name — Petronella Helene Klaassen • Born — 21 October 1906 • Birthplace — Arnhem, Netherlands • Died — 30 September 1989 • Place of death — Heemstede, Netherlands • Field — Sculpture • Illustration — The woman in wartime, 1949, Nel Klaassen Petronella "Nel" Helene Klaassen (1906-1989) was a Dutch sculptor.

Klaassen was born on 21 October 1906 in Arnhem. She studied at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) in Amsterdam. She was taught by Jan Bronner, Gijs Jacobs van den Hof and Richard Roland Holst. In 1932 Klaassen won a Prix de Rome for monumental and decorative sculpture. She used the prize to study in Rome and to travel to London and Paris. In 1934 she settled in Amsterdam with fellow artist Jaap Bouhuys (1902-1983). The couple eventually married in 1958. They worked together and the couple also collaborated with the architect Gijsbert Friedhoff. Klaassen received commissions throughout the 1930s. Klaassen's work was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale Onze Kunst van Heden (Our Art of Today) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In 1949 Klaassen was chosen to create a monument in Arnhem honoring women in wartime. Critics complained that the image was too modern and unfeminine. She continued receiving commissions for monuments, mosaics, tapestries, and murals through the 1950s and 1960s, and 1970s, including a mural for the Electrical Engineering building at the Delft University of Technology. She also exhibited with Sonsbeek and Sint Lucas. Klaassen died on 30 September 1989 in Heemstede.

• Illustration — Facade relief In de Cluys, 1942, Nel Klaassen, Markt Middelburg, above bank. • Illustration — Mosaic in the hall of the Lorentz building, Nel Klaassen

Nel Klaassen was a Dutch sculptor, ceramicist, and textile artist, born in Arnhem on 21 October 1906 and recorded as having died in Heemstede on 30 September 1989. This award provided the financial means for her to undertake extensive artistic study in Rome, as well as study trips to London and Paris. The authority record maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation also records The Hague among her principal locations of work. Throughout her career, Klaassen engaged with institutional bodies and regional exhibitions across the Netherlands. In 1939, her work was chosen for inclusion in the Onze Kunst van Heden exhibition and sale held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. English Wikipedia notes that she went on to participate in group exhibitions organised by Sint Lucas and the Sonsbeek sculpture exhibitions. Her artistic output entered major public collections, with Wikidata recording her work in the permanent holdings of Museum Arnhem, National Museum Paleis het Loo, TextielMuseum, Het Scheepvaartmuseum, and Stichting Kunst in de Publieke Ruimte in Arnhem. What remains unrecorded in the available evidence is any precise document detailing her auction market history or trade prices.